i would just, very quickly mr. thale, have you ever asked to meet with a political prisoner in prison? no? i hope you would. i think -- you know, i think -- i have made it my business 35 years as a member of congress to meet with dissidents everywhere and anywhere i go where there is a repressive regime, but i always seek to go to the prisons to try to show some solidarity some empathy with those who are suffering the daily acts of torture and brutal mistreatment that mr. brunes articulated. the book that got me into fighting for religious freedom, frankly, in 1981 was "toured byurbidorture"tortured by christ" where torture is commonplace. and in the book i mentioned earlier, he talked about theedsse tortures that just never ended. he talked about poles that would be jabbed in. there was no sleep. talk about sleep deprivation, just no sleep. you never knew when you would get a shot in the nose or the groin area. as the guards shifted from one shift to another, they would use these ho chi minh poles. they were designed by

mr. thale the team that offered 14 new ties as well as recommendations from directions in u.s. policy toward latin america. mr. thale has studied cuba issue since the mid-1990s and has traveled to cuba more than a dozen times. i wish i could get that these up. including organizing delegations for academics and members of congress and coordinated advocacy of this issue with coalition of business agricultural groups who favor lifting the general travel ban on cuba. i would like to now yield the floor to antÚnez. [speaking spanish] >> translator: honorable congressman christopher smith good morning to all participating members. [speaking spanish] >> translator: my name is jorge luis garcia perez antÚnez. i am a former political prisoner who has spent 17 continuous years of political imprisonment. [speaking spanish] >> translator: with the sole crime of calling out in a public square in my hometown. [speaking spanish] >> translator: for the reforms such as those that were taking place back then in

then mr. thale. along with a focus on specific countries and themes, he led the team that authored forging new ties. recommendations for new directions in u.s. policy towards latin america. he coordinates with business, agricultural groups to favor lifting the general travel ban on cuba. i'd like to now yield the floor to antones. >> translator: honorable christopher smith. good morning to all participating members. my name --. i am a former political prisoner who spent 17 continues years of political imprisonment. for the sole supposed crime of calling out in a public square in my hometown of placetas for the implementation of reforms of those taking place back then in communist europe.

if you would like to make any final comments mr. thale and finishing with mr. antunes. >> at the deepest respect for your commitment to human rights and particularly your focus on human trafficking. obviously we differ about the best way to move forward and i'm happy to continue that discussion. the only specific thing i would sand the human trafficking issue is that if you look at the u.n. trafficking reports they are different than -- because cuba has refused to dialogue on this issue. i believe there has been discussion. >> and i just say the problem has been with some u.n. bureaucracies. i remember when he held a hearing this room and reverend walker came and presented testimony and was eloquent about the how the child mortality rate is so low. i had read the reports that came out of a certain u.n. agency that suggested that with so and i asked him because i know that some of our witnesses have said earlier auras ileana ros-lehtinen has pointed out on his numbers, if you believe that i will say the brooklyn bridge. no independent confirmation, no cross chec

. >> mr. thale i want to start by thanking you for coming. just want to say for the record i am in a bit of a disagreement. if foreign direct investment was a good way to get these folks to come around we would be in a better place right now. the spaniards have had nice hotels for a long time and it just hasn't had enough of an impact. so i'm worried we are just casting a lifeline to folks to murderous folks that are really about to go under. for mr. garcia mrs. soler and mrs. fonseca. [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] .. [speaking spanish] and so i want to tell you wholeheartedly how much i support what you are doing. [speaking spanish] >> thank you so very, very much. if you would like to respond, but she does have a plane to catch. >> thank you, mr. chair and the witnesses for they're testimony. i had a couple of questions. posted posted on the board. their are about 27 organizations that are funded to help activists in cuba, some cuba, some of the organizations are funded in cuba and some in miami