Mr. Secretary, thank you for the report you've just given me. I've received a Commission for the Assistance of a Free Cuba. It's a report from a Commission that I have put together in my administration to hasten the day that Cuba will be a free country.
We believe the people of Cuba should be free from tyranny. We believe the future of Cuba is a future of freedom. It's in our Nation's interest that Cuba be free. It's in the neighborhood's interest that Cuba be free. More importantly, it's in the interest of the Cuban people that they be free from tyranny.
This strategy is a strategy that encourages the spending of money to help organizations to protect dissidents and to promote human rights. It is a strategy that encourages a clear voice of the truth being spoken to the Cuban people through Radio and TV Marti. It is a strategy that will prevent the regime from exploiting hard currency of tourists and of remittances to Cubans to prop up their repressive regime. It is a strategy that says we're not waiting for the day of Cuban freedom; we are working for the day of freedom in Cuba.
The Commissioners did good work. I appreciate it, Mr. Secretary. Thank you for coming.
NOTE: The President spoke at 11:20 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.
George W. Bush, Remarks Following a Meeting With the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/214243
