Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) condemned Barack Obama’s Cuban prisoner swap today after it was announced. Menendez said the deal “vindicated the brutal behavior of the Cuban government.”
The Hill reported:
Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is slamming President Obama over his prisoner swap to release an American held in Cuba.
“President Obama’s actions have vindicated the brutal behavior of the Cuban government,” Menendez, known for his tough stance on Cuba, said in a statement.
“There is no equivalence between an international aid worker and convicted spies who were found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage against our nation.”American aid worker Alan Gross, who was held in Cuba for five years for trying to set up Internet for a small Jewish community, was released on Wednesday in exchange for the release of three Cuban agents convicted of spying in the U.S.
Menendez said the swap “sets an extremely dangerous precedent.”
“It invites dictatorial and rogue regimes to use Americans serving overseas as bargaining chips. I fear that today’s actions will put at risk the thousands of Americans that work overseas to support civil society, advocate for access to information, provide humanitarian services, and promote democratic reforms.”
My statement on #Cuba & #AlanGross: http://t.co/96XNrJe2se
— Sen. Robert Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) December 17, 2014
