CAFÉ praises Archbishop Wenski’s support for Airline Brokers
Urges elected officials in Congress to condemn terror attack and aid investigation
From the CAFÉ web site
MIAMI – Cuban Americans for Engagement (CAFÉ), an organization that advocates for a new U.S. policy towards Cuba based on the principles of pragmatic engagement, citizen exchange, open trade and diplomatic cooperation, issued the following statement about Archbishop Wenski’s visit to the offices of Airline Brokers on June 28th, 2012, and called upon local and federal officials to aid in the investigation of the firebombed business:
“CAFÉ appreciates Archbishop Thomas Wenski’s gesture to bless the new offices of Airline Brokers which is recovering from the terrorist attack it suffered in April. The use of a fire bomb against a business that operates within the laws of the United States and serves the travel needs of the Cuban American community is a concern of the whole nation.
“As Cuban-Americans, we denounce terrorism as an attack against the values and interests of the United States and Cuba. CAFÉ declares its total condemnation of this terrorist act and welcomes the commitment by law enforcement to capture and punish its authors. CAFÉ calls upon elected officials in Miami and Coral Gables, the Florida state legislature, and in Congress to express support and sympathy for the executives and workers of Airline Brokers and to denounce this act of terrorism, no matter the ideology or political position of the victim.
“We particularly encourage Senators Marco Rubio and Robert Menendez to call publicly for total cooperation with the authorities in the identification and capture of the author or authors of this callous and cowardly attack.
“CAFÉ reaffirms its commitment to the liberty of Cubans living in the U.S. to visit their country of origin as a human right recognized in Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The time has come for all politicians to respect this liberty as a constitutional and international right, not refer to it as an aspiration, privilege or political license.
“While only its direct authors bear legal responsibility for the terrorist attack, it is difficult to distance this action from an atmosphere that apologizes for terrorism, the homage paid to terrorists such as Orlando Bosch in the campus of the University of Miami, and the condemnation of family, cultural, religious and educational travel to Cuba by extremist segments of the Cuban American media and even elected officials. CAFÉ calls upon the pro-embargo sectors of the Cuban American community to act with civility and condemn the incendiary rhetoric of political stigmatization of businesses associated with legal travel to Cuba.”
