▶ 0:11:46The Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere will come to order. The purpose of the hearing is to examine the United States foreign policy in Latin America and the results of the president's decisive action to apprehend Nicolas Maduro on January the 3rd. I ask for unanimous consent to the members from Florida, Representative Carlos Gimenez, and Representative Wasserman Schultz be allowed to sit on the dais and participate in today's hearing without objection. So ordered.
▶ 0:12:17And I recognize myself for an opening statement of less than 5 minutes. On January 3rd, after the fall of Maduro, the Western Hemisphere changed For the first time in 30 years, Latin Americans are breathing the air of President Trump has done what no other administration has dared to do, and I'm talking about the last 30 years since Ronald Reagan
▶ 0:12:43used American strength strength to spread freedom and democracy in the Western Hemisphere. There's a new Monroe Doctrine now called the Don The results are evident in this hemisphere. In Cuba and in Nicaragua, the people finally have hope.
▶ 0:13:04In Colombia, after President Petro allowed coca crops to reach historic levels for the last 5 years, he visited the White House, met with the president, and all of a sudden, he began fighting the guerrillas in his country.
▶ 0:13:19In Panama, President Mulino and the Supreme Court of that country canceled the Panama Canal concessions held by a Chinese party front called CK After decades, our neighbors are reclaiming control of their countries, and the awakening is spreading.
▶ 0:13:39In Peru, leaders now understand the dangers of a China owning a deepwater port at Chancay with the potential of something called dual That doesn't have a nice connotation. Dual usage is a direct threat in our hemisphere, right in the country of Peru. For that reason, the new Peruvian government, which will be elected next June, must take it back, that port.
▶ 0:14:08Take it back, and the United States will help them under the Trump Across the hemisphere, nations are realizing a long ignored truth that you cannot outsource your sovereignty to the enemies of the United States of America, For that reason, the hemisphere is realigning against the dictators, and thank God that Cuba is next.
▶ 0:14:32Cuba has always been the epicenter of evil in the Western Hemisphere, Tyranny is their only export. They wrote the manual on repression. But now, with this new Don Roe reality, the Cuban people are full of hope, and so is Miami, the city that I represent in this honorable body. They have taken to the streets in more than 200 times in the last month alone.
▶ 0:15:01I'm talking about the Cubans in on the island. They have even burned down the headquarters of the Communist Party in the city called in a city called a Cubans have lost their fear.
▶ 0:15:14And even more important, they lost the belief in the invincibility of the Castro regime, which has lived in the soul of every Cuban for the last 65 That belief of the invincibility has been shattered by knowing that Donald has not forgotten them. And the good news is that when people lose fear, the dictatorship is about to lose everything.
▶ 0:15:41Just days ago, the top Cuban figurehead called Diaz-Canel said on television that he was not leaving power, that he was not going anywhere. Well, Maduro a few months ago said the same thing, and look where he is now. For the first time, the entrenched Castro machine is vulnerable. You cannot reform a system system that was built on repression. You only have to replace it.
▶ 0:16:08And when Cuba finally falls, it will not be the end of something. It will be the beginning of everything for the Western Hemisphere. It will be the last piece of the domino that will only lead to the most consequential expansion of liberty in our hemisphere for many generations to come. The communist regime in Cuba is on life support. Trump just needs to pull the I am going to say a few words now to the Cubans in Spanish.
▶ 0:16:38I am going to say that I'm going to say that Can I do that right now? I'm going to say that right now, and then I'm going to allow for the ranking member to give his statement. Uh
▶ 0:17:45The chair now recognizes the ranking member from Texas representative Castro for any statements he may have. You have 5 minutes. Thank
▶ 0:17:54Thank you. Thank you Ambassador Kozak for being here. I understand this is your 37th time testifying before Congress. The first time was in July of 1981. So that must be some kind of record at least for the State You have extensive experience in these matters which makes it all the more frustrating to be honest that 16 months into this administration this is the first time that we have you appearing before the committee. Let me be clear about how we got here.
▶ 0:18:23Regarding Venezuela for example, the president invaded and overthrew the government of a foreign country without coming before Congress for a declaration of war or an authorization for the use of military force. He did not brief Congress before the operation whatsoever. The administration does not get to skip those questions just because the target was someone that we disliked.
▶ 0:18:46This operation was not a democracy In July 2024 the Venezuelan people against enormous odds chose Edmundo Gonzalez to be their president. Maduro and Delcy Rodriguez who the president struck a deal with stole that This administration did not invade Venezuela because it was outraged by that theft though. And to be clear I would not have supported invasion to enforce the results of the election. We know why the president ordered US service members into harm's way.
▶ 0:19:16Venezuela's oil, not democracy. There've been no credible timelines for elections, no meaningful pressure on the Rodriguez government to release political prisoners, or dismantle the repressive security apparatus that remains fully intact.
▶ 0:19:32In fact, Delcy Rodriguez replaced one Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, a man with a brutal history of torture and repression, who was sanctioned by multiple governments, including the United States, with Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez, another man with a brutal history of torture and repression, also sanctioned by multiple governments, including the United But the president says that she's doing a great job. The president announced the return of the Monroe Doctrine, as the chairwoman mentioned. And let me be clear about what that means.
▶ 0:20:02In the early 20th century, using the Monroe Doctrine as justification, American presidents used military force to secure the rights of American businesses across the hemisphere. We occupied Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic for decades to support US business interests and sugar interests. We invaded Colombia, Haiti, and Honduras for similar reasons.
▶ 0:20:24For decades, our men and women in uniform, who volunteered to protect our country, became mercenaries ordered to risk their lives to protect the profits of US corporations. Today, President Trump is ordering them to do so again, starting with oil in That's why I, along with Representatives Casten and Senators Van Hollen and Kaine, have requested that the Government Accountability Office audit how Venezuelan oil revenues are being collected and used, and also who Venezuela is not the only country
▶ 0:20:54in the Western Hemisphere facing credible threats of US invasion under President The president has threatened Panama, Mexico, Canada, Greenland, and most urgently, Cuba. And I have no illusions about the nature of Cuba's government.
▶ 0:21:11But I do want to say for the record that I suspect after the war in Iran and the embarrassment that the president has suffered that the president of the United States will likely try to overthrow the Cuban government for what he would consider a quick win. I hope the Cuban government holds free and fair elections and they must engage in real economic reforms. All of us, regardless of party, have been pushing for that for years. Its failure to do so continues to harm the Cuban people.
▶ 0:21:42But we cannot ignore our own country's role in the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Cuba. 65 years of maximum pressure has not improved the lives of ordinary This policy has failed. The Trump administration's latest round of sanctions and its oil blockade are causing direct harm to civilians across the island. I believe the president went went into Venezuela because he saw it also as an easy win.
▶ 0:22:11And after the embarrassment that he's now facing, as I mentioned, I believe that he will pursue Cuba. And that would be a catastrophe for the Cuban people, for the region, and for the United States where Americans, quite honestly, are sick of more war. This is our second hearing this Congress on Latin America with the administration testifying at a time when this administration has put the region front and center.
▶ 0:22:35I think it's safe to say that no president in a few generations, at least, has focused on Latin America in the way that President Trump is focusing on the region. So, there is a lot to discuss. And the administration's naked election interference in Argentina, Honduras, and Guatemala is included in that. The illegal extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, for which there will be accountability at some point.
▶ 0:23:01The diversion of hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign assistance to fund DHS deportations. This committee must and will have a full accounting of all these actions before the president's term is up, but also perhaps once he's gone. I yield back. Thank you, ranking member. And other members of the committee are reminded that opening statements may be submitted for the record.
▶ 0:23:28Now, we are pleased to have the senior bureau official for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States Department of State, the Honorable Michael Kozak, before us. Ambassador Kozak has more than 50 years of distinguished service as a US diplomat. And like you said, like he said, you more than 30 times in a position like this one. So, I'm sure that you are not nervous. And this is nothing new for you.
▶ 0:23:53He has served as ambassador to Belarus, senior office for Western Hemisphere Affairs on two separate occasions, and in numerous other assignments in Latin America and in Washington, D.C. Your full statement will be made part of the record, and I'll ask you to keep your spoken remarks to 5 minutes and allow for other members to question. I now recognize Ambassador Kozak for an opening statement. And thank you very much for being here. Welcome.
▶ 0:24:19Well, thank you very much, uh, Madam Chairman, and uh, ranking member Castro and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today on how our engagement in the Western Hemisphere has yielded positive results for the American President Trump's national security strategy affirms the critical importance of this region to our national interests.
▶ 0:24:41Over the past 14 months, we've seen tremendous success on a broad Our agenda includes securing our border and ending illegal immigration, defeating the narco-terrorist groups that traffic drugs to the United States and destabilize their own communities, and expanding economic opportunities for The reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine to eliminate the influence of global adversaries and malign actors in the region is helping protect our homeland.
▶ 0:25:11Illegal immigrant encounters at the US Southwest border are down 91% illegal crossings through the Darien Gap were down 99% in 2025. These dramatic statistics are a testament of the president's approach. We've worked with partners to enhance control of their own borders.
▶ 0:25:30Our partners have imposed new visa and have sanctioned and prosecuted those involved in human smuggling and We are also facilitating the highest number of removals and deportations in We've negotiated asylum cooperative agreements to reduce the burden on the American asylum system.
▶ 0:25:50We've entered into third country national arrangements to remove aliens with no right right to remain in the United States to other countries in the All of this upholds President Trump's commitment to making American citizens For too long Americans have been poisoned by the flow of fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs through our open borders. We're taking action to eliminate these threats and we are already seeing Drug flows are disrupted.
▶ 0:26:18The CDC estimates that US drug overdose death dropped 17% in the 12 months through October 25. These efforts are saving thousands of American lives. On March 7, 2026, the president expanded our security efforts through the Shield of the Americas Summit. Leaders who share our resolve to defeat the cartels and foreign terrorist groups operating in the Western Hemisphere are now engaged as never before.
▶ 0:26:47Nowhere is our resolve to defeat narco-terrorists clearer than in We are now helping Venezuelan transition from a criminal enabler to a responsible partner. We are doing this through the three-phased approach to Venezuela's stabilization and democratic transition that the President and Secretary Rubio have laid out.
▶ 0:27:09The United States is assisting in safekeeping government of Venezuela funds derived from the sale of Venezuelan oil or other natural These are being used for the benefit of the Venezuelan people. We see progress in Venezuela's political The interim government passed an amnesty and released hundreds of political prisoners.
▶ 0:27:33And I'm advised that just within the last hour or so, another 50 more have been released by the Venezuelan interim government. Exiled opposition figures are re-engaging in public life. Civil society is rebuilding. These steps are essential to create the conditions for transition to a democratically elected government in Venezuela's interim government has enacted significant hydrocarbons reform.
▶ 0:28:00Treasury issued general licenses have have expanded US commercial engagement. The region is also now safer. On March 30th, we announced the resumption of operations at US Embassy in Caracas. This is a new chapter in our diplomatic presence in Venezuela. We are strengthening cooperation on and migration. We're building economic ties that benefit America. With Maduro's arrest, Cuba lost one of its last benefactors.
▶ 0:28:30The end of massive subsidies at the expense of the Venezuelan people exposed the Cuban communist regime's economic President Trump has made clear that we will not tolerate this threat on our doorstep any longer. Now is the time for drastic political and economic reforms in Cuba.
▶ 0:28:49Our vision is for a hemisphere that prevents mass migration, counters and our co-terrorist groups, remains free of hostile foreign incursion, and generates economic opportunity for everyone in the As outlined in the national security strategy, we are working to enlist both our established friends and new partners in this endeavor. Over the last year, we've seen countries like Panama, as you mentioned, stand up to the influence of extra-hemispheric powers and defend their sovereignty.
▶ 0:29:19We've seen President Paz turn the page on 20 years of anti-US sentiment in And we've seen partners like Ecuador and Mexico remove violent criminals to the United States to face charges. These historic achievements require our sustained support. Panama faced economic pressure after its Supreme Court illegally granted port concessions that favored Beijing over Panama. As Secretary Rubio has stated, we will stand firmly with Panama.
▶ 0:29:48We will only increase our economic and security operations cooperation with this important partner. Across the hemisphere, we are strengthening critical supply chains. At the February critical minerals the Secretary signed agreements on critical mineral cooperation with Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. The linkages created between the United States and our partners in key strategic sectors will benefit both sides and push adversaries out of the region.
▶ 0:30:18President Trump has been clear on the critical importance to our national security of US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere. In the past, we took our position in the hemisphere for granted with unfortunate We are now intensely focused on building the partnerships necessary throughout the region to meet our responsibility to the American people and the benefit of the peoples of the Americas. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thanks to you, Mr.
▶ 0:30:47Ambassador, and now recognize myself for 5 minutes of questioning. Once again, thank you very much for being here. It's my pleasure. Uh we have we definitely have a very big story happening in the Western Hemisphere like it hasn't happened in the last 30 years since Ronald Reagan. So, I'm as delighted as you are. Let me just do Let me just start with Venezuela and then we go to Cuba. Uh Venezuela, I understand what Secretary Rubio says that we have to stabilize, we have to recover, and then we have to transition. We do not like Delcy.
▶ 0:31:17We don't like dealing with Delcy. Delcy is part of Alibaba and the 40 Thieves. Now, I understand that we have to deal with her. Do we the United the State Department Do we have a date for the next presidential election with international observers, free and fair elections? Have we thought about a date and can you share with us what's happening in that front?
▶ 0:31:42Thanks for the question, uh Madam we don't have a date. We have conditions that will enable election and bring about a transition to democracy. And so, we're looking at the milestones along the way. I mentioned some of them in my statement. Uh amnesty law, the uh Venezuelan interim authorities uh claim that over 8,000 people have benefited from that. That's not enough.
▶ 0:32:08There are some uh opposition politicians that uh still are unable to go back and participate, and we want to see them able to participate. You know, holding an election without people uh that would be able to run for it, be able to campaign and win.
▶ 0:32:23you, and then that's my next question. Maria Corina Machado, she's one of the leaders of the opposition. She wants to go back to the country. She wants to reorganize the opposition forces. Yep. Are Are the United States going to give her any type of protection? Are we going to pick up the phone and call Delcy and her brother and say do not touch Maria Corina. Not only Maria Corina, everybody else that is not part of the ex-Maduro Yes, ma'am.
▶ 0:32:52And I think that that's been made very clear to them. We expect Good. What have they answered [clears throat] when you have told them that?
▶ 0:33:00Maria Corina Machado who I also respect very much to be able to go back and participate freely in an election. We want election observers. Um the other milestones along the way the I think as you know the the registry of voters in Venezuela is way out of date if not completely skewed. That needs to be cleaned up and modernized.
▶ 0:33:22The machinery the election machinery uh election commission and the uh supreme uh uh judicial council that uh supervises it are you know Maduro uh appointees that uh nobody has confidence in. So, what we want to see is the the opposition and the interim authorities agreeing on a restructuring of those so that that's in place.
▶ 0:33:45Uh But, can we do that in tandem at the same time that we're trying to repair Petróleos de Venezuela and bring some American investments in the oil industry? Is there any way that we can do that in tandem and we can be telling You understand that Delcy is not going to take any initiatives when it comes to opening up the democratic game, right? It's up to us. It's up to you at the State Department. So, can we start seeing more energetic posturing from our government that that is what we want her to start doing?
▶ 0:34:16Yes, Madam Chairman. And I think uh from You agree, right?
▶ 0:34:19Yes, absolutely. I was going to quote I was going to quote also that I say President Trump and Secretary Rubio have agreed to. When we've talked about the three-phase plan, phase one was stabilization. We didn't want the security situation to break down and have people not be able to get services, to have gangs roaming around, and so on. Uh have a big illegal migration outflow. Basically, we've succeeded at that. None of those things happened.
▶ 0:34:48That was That was phase one done. Phase two, as they've talked about, is uh recovery and and reconciliation. So, those are two things that go together, recovery of the economy by getting oil and industry revenues flowing back in again, and at the same time, as part of phase two, is the political reconciliation that will allow you to get the steps I just mentioned, and then be able to move to elections phase.
▶ 0:35:17to force them for the reconciliation. They're just trying to buy time. Yep. They don't want to reconcile. They're Yeah. Well,
▶ 0:35:24So, it's up to us.
▶ 0:35:25say, yeah, we're not uh we I think we would look at it from a standpoint that we're not trusting, but we're we're trusting in our leverage to be able to do it. We've got uh very significant control over the oil revenues at this point. And so,
▶ 0:35:40we're delighted with that, but I think that the next step that we should work on is a date for presidential elections at some point, whether it's this year or next year. We need a date. So, then we can start we can start working towards that goal. It's I'm sure that you agree, because the United States is not in the business of occupying. We're in the business of liberating. Yes, ma'am. And that is why we have to send that message. And I'm glad that you that you respect Maria Corina.
▶ 0:36:09I knew her not not long ago, but I do believe that after 16 months in a tunnel trying to defend the democracy in her country, she deserves our at least our respect. Let's go to Cuba. A Russian tanker called Anatoly Kolodkin was able to deliver its close to 750,000 barrels of oil to Cuba. Why did we allow for that tanker to break the siege that we had created around Cuba? Why?
▶ 0:36:38I think as the president said, he he did it as a one-time uh exception as a way of helping on the humanitarian front. Uh I would note that that while that sounds like a considerable amount of fuel, it's about 7 to 10 days' worth for normal usage in Cuba. So, it's it's not a a deal breaker. We've got very strong control on that.
▶ 0:37:05But, the main thing with Cuba uh and I served there in the late '90s. They've had this problem for a long, long, long time. People talk about the humanitarian situation in hospitals and so on. The lights were out in Cuba for about 25% of the time when I was there 30 years ago. They're in the business of power. They're not in the business of feeding the Cuban people.
▶ 0:37:27And the Cuban The Cuban side generates about 40% of their their oil needs anyway from their own oil wells. If they're not devoting that towards hospitals and schools and and instead of sending it to uh you know, Communist Party officials.
▶ 0:37:42they have destroyed the island. So, can we Can we agree that the State Department is not in any type of talks with a Castro brother, I mean, that's son, and grandson. We know that Diaz Canel is just a figurehead, that the real the real power is someone that has the Castro blood in them. And we're only talking about two people, the son and the grandson.
▶ 0:38:08Can you assure us today that there's no way that the United States is going to make any type of deal with the Castro family for them to stay at this hour? No, I would just refer you back to what the president and the secretary have have said on that subject Uh that we're engaged with uh regime, but it's with the view towards how do you how do you uh get them to undertake the kinds of drastic what I've just said drastic reforms they need to to take
▶ 0:38:39uh both when you look at what's wrong with that country, it's political, it's economic, it's social. So, they they got to start someplace.
▶ 0:38:46the latest you can tell us on that conversation between us and them? I I can't uh go into it any further than that, but I think, you know, what the secretary and the what the secretary and the president have said, the goals are very clear. What you know, what will happen uh it remains to be seen. How attainable are those goals?
▶ 0:39:06I think it's a uh estimate of certainly we have tremendous leverage now that hasn't existed before, and it's it's largely because of the Cubans' own creation. They have had a a system that was always dysfunctional.
▶ 0:39:22Uh they were able to survive because first the Soviets gave them massive amounts of subsidies, and then they sort of colonized Venezuela and got massive free oil from them, and they sold a lot of that oil on the open market for hard They don't have that anymore, and I don't see anybody else who's willing to step up and be, you know, sugar daddy to them anymore. So, they've got a problem of their own creation that they've got to get out of.
▶ 0:39:48They can talk to us about you know, if they've got if they've got some good idea that is in line with our our uh you know, we might even help them, but but it's not it's not the kind of thing uh We're not going to do any business with the Castros. They need to go, and then we need to start all over again. I think the I I want to have a courtesy with the rest of my colleagues here on the subcommittee. Just one more question. Um Um, I am going to ask you about Peru.
▶ 0:40:18I'm very concerned about this this port, which is the largest biggest Chinese port in the hemisphere. We know that is of dual usage. For those that do not understand what dual usage means, means that you can go from commercial to military in a minute. That means that they could have submarines, aircraft carriers, battleships right there in Peru. There is going to be an election in June. And I just would like to hear your thoughts.
▶ 0:40:42I am more than willing to reach out to the candidates and ask them to work with us in order to remove that threat from Chinese hands to Latin American hands. Do you agree with what I'm saying? Yes, I do.
▶ 0:40:58Uh, and I think the the Peruvian government would agree with you as well when they found out when they found out that the their own court ruled at the concession that they'd done on that on the Chancay Port meant that the Chinese were free from any kind of regulatory control by the by the government of It's it was pretty shocking.
▶ 0:41:20It's immense. Yep. And it can harm us and it's right there. It's like Secretary Ribas says, the problem is that whatever happens in the Western Hemisphere is because the proximity to our fatherland, it will harm us first and foremost very rapidly. So, I I maybe we'll have another round of of questioning, but now I would like to recognize Representative Campbell of California for 5 minutes. Thank you.
▶ 0:41:49Thank [clears throat] you, Madam Chair, for your persistence in bringing an administration witness to testify before this committee. And thank you uh, Mr. Kozak for being here today to answer our questions. So,
▶ 0:42:01just like with the war in Iran, it's shameful to see the administration repeat the clear foreign policy mistakes of the past. Reviving a policy of domination and subjugation in the Western Hemisphere through the Monroe Doctrine when we are still recovering from the backlash and mistrust that policy created during the Cold War is going to set us back in terms of our relationships with the region by But let's talk about Venezuela.
▶ 0:42:31So in January, Trump issued an executive order directing Venezuelan oil revenue to be held in US Treasury accounts where the funds can be used, quote, for public, governmental, or diplomatic purposes determined by the Secretary of State. Uh so, Mr. Kozak, has the State Department authorized the disbursement of any funds from these accounts to date? Yes, we have.
▶ 0:42:57Uh I think it's total of around $3 billion have moved through. 3 [clears throat] million or 3 billion?
▶ 0:43:03Billion. $3 billion. Okay, well, that's interesting because we've only been told that there's $1 billion. So, how much is in the account? That I will have to get back to you uh on. All right. So, you don't know, but it as it is at least $3 billion. So, $3 billion has been moved. And so, where has that money What purposes have those $3 billion been spent on?
▶ 0:43:33The agreed purposes are things like paying the salaries of government workers in Venezuela. Um buying uh supplies for their oil industry, diluents, and so on. Um Yeah, uh other things that that are benefit the public.
▶ 0:43:51What we've said is they cannot use the money for is things like making payments to the Chinese, to the Cubans, uh to the Iranians, uh or uh putting money in people's personal bank accounts, which is what was going on Okay, well, I'm I'm sorry I'm glad that you brought some of that up because under this executive order with the Secretary of State be prohibited from using the oil revenue to pay cartels in Venezuela,
▶ 0:44:21for example. I don't know if the executive order would prohibit it, but the Secretary of State sure is is not going to do that. All right, but it's it's the the the executive order is pretty vague. So, it's really at the discretion of the Secretary of State. So, we don't really know if he would or wouldn't since the there is no guardrails.
▶ 0:44:48So, under this executive order, for example, would the Secretary of State be prohibited from using the funds to pay the regime to accept deported Venezuelans from the United States? Look, I'm I'm not going to speculate on anything that could or could Well, especially if it's an issue of what what is not prohibited versus what we are doing or plan to do. I on the latter, I can tell you we have no plan to use money to pay them to take people.
▶ 0:45:18They already were taking people deported from the United States. So, would the
▶ 0:45:22They In fact, they're welcoming people who want to come back voluntarily. Well, under the executive order, would the Secretary of State be prohibited from using the funds to pay Trump donors? I This is a theoretical legal question that it I'm just not going to go down that road.
▶ 0:45:40Well, as the
▶ 0:45:42And would it stop them from paying me? Would it stop them from paying you? Would it stop Well, I think that's what I mean, those are legitimate questions. You are the senior bureau official for the Western Hemisphere affairs.
▶ 0:45:54to spend it on and what we have not agreed to spend it on, but you're asking me whether legal document prohibits you know you know if the if the
▶ 0:46:09I am asking you that because the American people do deserve to know how dollars are being spent. I mean the whole idea around the dough is about transparent. and accounting the money to be spent not not a law school exam on whether This is your law school exam. We're talking about money. But okay, so you want to go there. Has the administration set up an independent audit system for the Treasury account holding the Venezuelan oil funds? Yes.
▶ 0:46:39Okay. So can we access It it's it's KPMG a very well respected audit firm and they will be providing reports. I mean these are these are after the fact these are the
▶ 0:46:53the reports? When are they going to reply When will they provide the reports? I think probably I I'll have to ask my colleagues in the economic bureau but I think it's like quarterly that they'll be doing it.
▶ 0:47:04So when will the next one be released?
▶ 0:47:05I I will have to get back to you on
▶ 0:47:07Okay, well please do.
▶ 0:47:08Yeah, but but it's in place now and and it will be retrospective too. So even though it took a little while to set up it will go back and audit from the from the beginning.
▶ 0:47:18And then we can see And you can see
▶ 0:47:20how much has been spent and we can see exactly where the 3 billion dollars were spent. You can see what the auditors find. Yeah. Okay. Well thank you. Thank you sharing a little bit of information with that I yield back. Take care. Thank you. I now recognize Representative Jackson of Illinois for 5 minutes. Thank you. Thank you Chairwoman. Thank you for convening us.
▶ 0:47:47Chairwoman in your opening statements you celebrated the fact that quote the Cuban regime is on life support. Madam Chairwoman I would say that Cuba I was in Cuba less than a week ago, and that the Cuban people are on life support, not the Cuban government. It's time to abandon a six-decade-old failed policy that inflicts disproportionate harm on the Cuban people. The Trump administration policy towards Cuba is not new.
▶ 0:48:18This is now the going on the fourth generation of people in our hemisphere, 90 miles off of our shore, that know nothing about the generosity of the American people. We have engaged in collective punishment. What we are seeing is a doubling down on a failed policy of deliberately depriving the Cuban people of access to basic life necessities like fuel, imports, with the hope that they will rise up and overthrow their government out of discontent.
▶ 0:48:48This hasn't worked for 64 years, and it is magical thinking to believe that it will work now. I will say to you that the revolution happened in 1962. Think about it. 80% of Americans were not born since they have been born since 1962. This is a new world, a new America. They have suffered long off of our very shore. They have a very similar history to that of Haiti, as you know.
▶ 0:49:17At what point do we recognize? There are now 80 countries around the world that we have recognized since 1962. I'm asking you, what is the pathway forward? What did I see when I was in Cuba last week? I met with dissidents. I met with people that have been released from jail. I met with the president. I went to the hospitals. I went to the to the maternity wards.
▶ 0:49:40I do not believe that the American people would sit here and appreciate the administration's efforts to continue to punish the children that have just been born. I saw a child in the maternity ward named Alessandro. This child needed a ventilator needed an incubator the the incubator and the ventilator machines a low birth weight baby born less than a thousand grams and the lights were flickering on and off.
▶ 0:50:08I saw women walking up and down the stairs at the hospital that were in their last trimester of pregnancy because they could not access the elevator in the maternity ward. I saw a person that were trying to do surgeries, doctors that had to after the blackout in the hospital had to turn on their flashlights and their cell phones to finish a surgery. It was one of the most cruel things I had ever seen in my life. I want to ask you Mr.
▶ 0:50:37Kozak, do you agree with the current policy of starving this island nation of the essential resources they need in fuel so they can farm and have transportation and operate their Representative Jackson, first let me thank you for meeting with the dissidents and with the others in Cuba. very important.
▶ 0:50:58But second, I have to challenge the premises of some of the the assertions that you The Cuban government imports medicine and food from the United States has for some time. They get hundreds of millions of dollars of food imports and medicine imports from the US every year. After the recent hurricane in Cuba, the US government has been supplying assistance to the victims of the We've done it through the Catholic Church, not through the Cuban government.
▶ 0:51:28Well, excuse me Mr. Kozak. I appreciate it. In the interest of my time, I want to share one other things that they have purchased equipment from European corporations for ventilators, incubators and because those corporations have now been acquired by US conglomerates and now they're subsidiaries of US corporations, they can no longer get their equipment service for example. So, there's a long list of corporations that continue to inflict those sort of punishments on them. I saw the roads that were empty.
▶ 0:51:56I saw children not being able to go to school. I saw the grocery store shelves going empty and bare with my own eyes, and this was less than 2 weeks ago. Madam Chairwoman, I would invite you to come along with me that we go down to Cuba so that we can see this suffering of the Cuban people.
▶ 0:52:14Children that had not been born since this government had its change, and I would ask that we have mercy upon these people, that we show them the generosity of the American people, that we not engage in this hostility. To this day, we're trying to open the Strait of Hormuz. Why? Because we say there needs to be a free flow of oil and fuel around the world for air conditioning, for for
▶ 0:52:40I'm going to interrupt you.
▶ 0:52:41and then at this time, let me finish, Chairwoman. And now at this time, we should go to Cuba. Chairwoman, I would love to invite you, please. Yeah, I mean, I would love to go with you, and then we can definitely have a an exchange of ideas, and I am delighted that you've given me the opportunity. You know, I represent the Cuban exile community in Miami.
▶ 0:53:01Yes. The Cuban exile community in Miami has been sending $8 billion for the last 10 years to Cuba. The Cubans on the island live off the work of my constituents. The Cuban regime is in the business of power, not in the business of feeding the Cubans. The Cubans Fidel Castro has borrowed more money from Canada, from Mexico, from the
▶ 0:53:24Fidel Castro is And he's been dead for almost a decade. I'm talking about the living, not the The Cubans The Cuban Fidel Castro, who was a genius, And who is now dead. Let him rest in peace.
▶ 0:53:35extract No. I I I'm sure I would want him to be burning in hell.
▶ 0:53:40We're in the business We've already finished Easter, if we will. But but besides that, let's talk about Alexander that you were talking. Alexander, poor boy. He has He fell into
▶ 0:53:51I don't think that's really appreciated. If it was your child or anybody else's child, we should be standing up for a low birth weight child.
▶ 0:53:5930 seconds. These are the facts. The Cuban regime is not in the business
▶ 0:54:05Regime or government? There has been an election in the last 65 years. I'm the first one who would say, "Have the Cubans decide who they want to be governed by?" But the Cubans, unfortunately, have fallen into the hands of the most evil revolution since the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Western Hemisphere. We're talking about someone that don't care about
▶ 0:54:26since Pinochet. Since there's a lot of people that we can do with the party we invaded
▶ 0:54:32I would love to go with you to Havana. I would be honored.
▶ 0:54:36you ask them, I mean, that I'm sure that they will let me in with you. I'm I'm sure they would.
▶ 0:54:41at the end, I know who I'm representing. And I have heard the story since I was born. I wish Fidel Castro would have taken a different road. And he would have allowed for prosperity. We could be Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, only 90 miles away from the United States. But he chose evil. And he chose to be in the business of power over feeding his people. For that reason, the United States has been wanting to include them. Look what Obama did.
▶ 0:55:07But if we are walking, denying them the access to have fuel so that they can feed themselves. They want to purchase
▶ 0:55:13Your President Obama around them.
▶ 0:55:16And with this we end, because I'm for out of courtesy for the our witness. President Obama gave the opportunity to the Castro regime to give him everything in exchange of nothing. And what did they do to Obama? They spit on him. Because if the Castro regime at this time, you know, was alive, if Fidel would have said, "Okay, let's open up the economy." Now, these are the facts.
▶ 0:55:41Representative Jackson If Come on, that is a hyperbole, the you probably is that Chairwoman, I respect you enormously, but this is exaggeration, which is first cousin to fabrication, Madam Chairwoman. Oh, the story says that an Obama, who it was an an illustrious member of the Democratic Party, wanted to include the Cubans into the international community, and look what the Cuban regime did to him. And at the end, he failed because they don't care about freedom. They only care about themselves.
▶ 0:56:12So, thank you for the opportunity. I would love to go to Cuba with you. I look forward to the So, I think that I think I you're I Perhaps in a couple
▶ 0:56:21expired. I think I'm going to go back to uh be able to I think I recognize myself, right? And the ranking, that's right. Recognize I'm recognizing ranking member Castro of Texas for 5 minutes, and thank you for coming back.
▶ 0:56:33so much for recognizing me. You know, with respect to Cuba, I think the result that we all want, I believe, is that we want the Cuban people to be able to choose in free and fair elections who they would like to elect. We would like to see a democratic Cuba, and they may choose somebody on the right, like Milei in Argentina, or somebody to the left, uh like Petro in Colombia, uh but it's not our job to pick their person for them.
▶ 0:57:02I also don't believe that it's our job to overthrow their government. We have tried one strategy for decades and here we are. In Havana, I've not been to Cuba, but the footage I've seen, the pictures I've seen, the stories I've heard say that they're still living an antiquated life in many ways from decades past.
▶ 0:57:25and what we're doing right now is making that life as hard as it was even And I do have some questions for you because I believe there is an ongoing negotiation. President Trump on February 2nd said that the United States is negotiating with the highest people in Cuba. That was a quote. To secure regime change in Cuba. In early March, Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel said that Cuban officials have recently held talks with representatives of the United States government.
▶ 0:57:51ABC News reported in March that Secretary Rubio and his top aides met with representatives of the Cuban government at least half a dozen times in recent months. And so, my question is, can you confirm for us, Congress, that Secretary Rubio is leading these talks with Cuba? As I I mentioned with the chairman chairwoman uh ranking member, I I think what the secretary and the president have said about it is about as much as I can say, that there are talks.
▶ 0:58:22Obviously, it's being uh conducted at that level with the the president and the secretary talking about it. Uh I also But but let me cuz I need to get a clear answer. I mean, this is the oversight body, as you know. You're an old pro, 37 times now coming before the committee or at least testifying to Congress. Um you're the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere, and were a career person at the State Department before that for a long time. Um certainly you know whether Secretary Rubio is leading these talks. And if you can't tell us, why can't you tell us?
▶ 0:58:54I'm saying Secretary Rubio and the president are certainly supervising talks. That that is correct. But I I So, the pre- President Trump and Secretary Rubio are supervising the with Cuba. Yes, I think that's what they both have said publicly. Uh is Secretary Rubio out actually negotiating with Cuba personally?
▶ 0:59:18This This is where I I can't go beyond what what
▶ 0:59:21Is it classified or As you know, if you want to get anywhere with with talks of this kind, you don't do it in public. You you uh Well, but I'm not asking about the substance of the conversation. I'm just asking who's representing our country as American. Well, I think on on foreign policy, it's the President of the United States and the Secretary of State. That's That's the lead, and that's what they have said uh publicly here.
▶ 0:59:48Uh can you tell us who in the Cuban government uh or the Castro family are we negotiating with?
▶ 0:59:54I think it would be for for the Cuban government to make that statement, not for me. Well, I I'm I guess I guess um the the challenge is that at some point like reluctance to answer basic questions becomes not a negotiation on behalf of the United States, but more a secret act by the Trump administration. I mean, as you know, this Congress is the oversight that's supposed to be briefed on these issues.
▶ 1:00:24And the president or the secretary or whoever's negotiating with the Cubans is negotiating on behalf of not just the administration, but the country. And so, that's why I ask you you won't confirm that Secretary Rubio is actually doing the negotiations, but I'm asking the other question, well, okay, well, who are we negotiating with?
▶ 1:00:43Uh but you're not telling me that No, but I I think it's it's uh up to the Cuban side to decide whether they want to Whether they want to tell me Whether they want to
▶ 1:00:57who their negotiators are? who and how they are they are going about this.
▶ 1:01:04Yeah, sir, but but you know, like you know the answer to that. You're refusing to tell me, and you're refusing to tell the Congress. Like that's your job. No, I'm I'm saying that as as far as I'm authorized to uh to go is what what our Look, I don't our Secretary have said.
▶ 1:01:21And I you know, this is certainly not the first time uh uh that we've had negotiations with other governments that we private about until they've gelled somewhere, and then obviously you come up and talk to Congress, and particularly if there's anything that's being discussed that would require I know Well, let me say this. And And I respect your long tenure. Obviously, you're at State Department a lot of years. You're very obviously very much familiar with all these issues.
▶ 1:01:48Um but this is a very sensitive situation right now because the president has essentially threatened to overthrow the government of the country. And so, when I ask a question about, "Hey, well, who's negotiating?" or "Who's on their side negotiating?" And now my question is, "What are the administration's goals in the negotiation?" The reason that's so important for us and for the American people to know is the president may launch a war against this country, and I want to know if there's a chance if we're going to avoid that or not.
▶ 1:02:16Well, I think if you go back to what the president said, he was saying that Cuba was in a very tough place right now, as I mentioned earlier, of their own making, and that that uh they really should be making a deal. We've I think the goals of the United States are laid out in the Helms-Burton Act, the Libertad Act. And they both It's economic, social, political uh changes in Cuba that Well, let me let me ask you
▶ 1:02:44But that's a wide spectrum.
▶ 1:02:45Sure. I understand the Trump administration wants to use the quote Venezuela model in Cuba. Uh does that mean you expect the Cuban Communist Party to lead the transition in Cuba just like the Chavistas continue to run Venezuela? What role do you expect the Communist Party of Cuba and members of the Castro family to play in Cuba's political transition? In other words, uh in Venezuela, uh Maduro was overthrown, but Delcy Rodríguez stayed in place. So, is that the goal here in Cuba?
▶ 1:03:15I think the goal in Cuba is I think as both you and and uh chairwoman mentioned is to get to a point where the Cuban people can select their own leadership through a free and fair election. But that hasn't happened in Venezuela. I didn't say that we wanted to follow Venezuelan model in Cuba. I don't know where that came from, but uh that was not my statement.
▶ 1:03:39what we are trying to see in Cuba [clears throat] is to get them they need to make fundamental economic, political, social reforms. They need to start somewhere. I think the president has been very clear that, you know, if they if they start down that path, they could even get some help from us if they do
▶ 1:03:55And then this I know I've gone over time, but let me say this. Um uh about about Venezuela. I think with the Trump administration I think the goal was oils. I think the goal was the spoils of the country. I think the goal was setting up cronies to make money off of Venezuela without real political change within Venezuela. Everybody except Maduro is still in place. And so it's making me think that the goal in Cuba is going to be the same.
▶ 1:04:25Is who's going to go over there that's friends with the president to make money? And who's going to profit off of Cuba and the Cuban people? Uh I want to see things in Cuba change. I think we all do. Like I said, we want to see free and fair elections. Um but while I don't believe we should overthrow the government, I especially don't believe we we should overthrow the government so that a group of six or 10 or 12 people can make a bunch of money off of it. With that, sir, I yield back. Thank you. Thank you, ranking member.
▶ 1:04:54I now recognize Representative Stanton of Arizona for 5 minutes.
▶ 1:04:58Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Kozak, for taking time to testify at this important hearing. The United States' relationship with our allies in the Western Hemisphere, from Mexico to Canada and beyond is crucial. Instead, unfortunately this administration has abandoned the rule-based order. Trump has ousted foreign leaders, threatened our allies, levied tariffs without a thought to the implications at home or abroad.
▶ 1:05:23Trump's {quote} Don Roe doctrine {unquote} claimed to put the spotlight back on the Western but now unfortunately we are bogged down in a war in Iran with no seeming end. Our North American allies are critical to our economic and national security. The USMCA has made our economies more interdependent. The USMCA review is currently underway, but our relationships with our North American neighbors could not be more strained.
▶ 1:05:50President has threatened unilateral military action against Mexico, continues to make jokes about annexing Canada, completely We should be doubling down on our investments in our North American allies, not backing away or taking these critical partnerships for granted. Semiconductors are a clear example of how this all fits together. My home state of Arizona is ground zero for our semiconductor industry. TSMC is there, Intel is there.
▶ 1:06:17Chips and Science Act directed historic investment into domestic manufacturing, Arizona is at the center. But we solved part of the equation and left the rest unfinished. Most critical minerals that are used in semiconductors are still processed in China. Chips manufactured here are still sent to China for packaging.
▶ 1:06:35That means that even our domestic manufacturing has choke points that an adversary can And of course it's essential that we win the economic and security battle with China has become a top trade top trading partner for Latin American economies, exerting influence over critical infrastructure like ports, telecommunication networks, and access to natural resources. We have to take this threat seriously and match the CCP's economic might with our own.
▶ 1:07:03That's why I've been leading efforts in Congress to work with our allies in Mexico and Latin America to nearshore industries like critical mineral processing and advanced semiconductor packaging. But you know, the fact the State Department has only just started to reactivate projects intended to diversify semiconductor supply chains by developing the talent we need in countries like Mexico or Costa Rica. We can't afford any delays. Can we expect a department's full and continuous support for all ITSI funded projects in the Western Hemisphere?
▶ 1:07:35Yes, I mean certainly all the problems that you just well laid out representative is one that that we're trying to get a a move on. We've gone way too far behind in in letting China take over critical uh supply chains in the region. Uh we've we have refining capacity issues that quite challenging. Um so it's a it's a huge priority for us.
▶ 1:08:02That's what the critical minerals minerals summit that uh the secretary uh had recently was all about. the exact funding for the ITSI thing I I'm not sure what the the respective levels are, but I know this is something that's really high on the secretary and the president's list. So I would be Yeah, surprised if we aren't.
▶ 1:08:25the funding should be more of a certainly the delays that are going on. We're hoping that we can get through that and start funding these important projects. We need your continued attention and commitment to expanding and strengthening semiconductor supply chains across the region, but nearshoring semiconductor capabilities to friendly countries in the Western Hemisphere must be paired with security strategy that makes investment viable. You cannot build a reliable secure semiconductor supply chain in regions where cartel violence creates operational risk, corrupts institutions, undermines rule of law.
▶ 1:08:56I've pushed for deeper security cooperation with Mexico and introduced a congressional resolution expressing deep concerns with the constitutional reforms that radically reformed Mexico's judicial system. I expect this administration is extremely concerned by these developments as well. We know it's a limiting factor for American investment in Mexico. Mexico's judicial reforms will leave judges open to influence from the PRC or transnational crime organizations.
▶ 1:09:24Since you became the SBO for Western Hemisphere Affairs, how many times has a Trump administration official spoken publicly about the judicial reforms in Mexico? cannot count up times publicly, but we have engaged repeatedly with Mexico on this topic.
▶ 1:09:45I think as you know, we can't say that having elected judges is ipso facto uh contrary to good rule of law since we have them in many states in the United States. But what we are saying, and we've been uh doing so in conjunction with the uh American investment community in Mexico, is that you need to have qualified judges that are independent, that that are uh not uh in the pocket of uh the cartels or or the Chinese or anybody else.
▶ 1:10:15And it so it is an it's an issue of concern. We've made that that clear, but I think the main uh push on the on the Mexican side is that if they want to attract investment, they need to they need to do the things even within the framework they've adopted to make people have confidence in their judicial system that it's not going to you know, misused against against investors. So it's a it's a work in progress. That that's for sure.
▶ 1:10:42Madam Chair, if I have additional questions, I'll submit them for the record and hopefully get a written response from uh Mr. Cozzack. Thank you for your uh time. Thank you, sir. I yield back. Thank you to you. And now I recognize Representative Titus of Nevada for 5 minutes. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Uh I know this hearing is focused on Latin America, but but since you cover all the Western Hemisphere, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our northern neighbor and some of the challenges there.
▶ 1:11:09Madam Chairman, could I please ask unanimous consent to enter this article in the record? It says Canadian tourism in in Las Vegas on a downward trend meets 2006 levels, 2006. Thank you. Accepted. it this highlights that tourism data shows that Canadians are not coming to Las Vegas. Now, it would have we'd have thought we'd never insult Canadians.
▶ 1:11:38They're our best friends and our neighbors, but we have managed to do that and tourism by Canadians has fallen 20% and it's a trend that can last for several years. The rhetoric has been terrible. We've called Canada our 51st state. We've said Canadians are nasty. They're about the nicest people on the planet. We've imposed disastrous tariffs. We've said they're freeloading off of our defense assistance.
▶ 1:12:06It's so you know, we've seen that we've pushed them away and the Prime Minister has signed a trade deal with Canada just in January and says that Canada's stopping its reliance on US defense procurement. Now, today Mr. Trump is in my district talking about tourism and this big bill and how it's supposed to help us, but I I don't see how it addresses this issue.
▶ 1:12:33So, what I would ask you, Ambassador, as Trump continues to refer to Canada as our 51st state, do you do that? Have you ever called Canada our 51st state in your dealings with the country? Or have you ever referred to the Prime Minister Carney or Trudeau as governors like the president has.
▶ 1:12:56Well, I No, I have not used those words and I think you know, the president you you have to go back and look at context and his his words speak for themselves in that in that context. What I would say though is we do engage with Canada quite a bit. had just last 2 weeks had a delegation down from Canada. We work together on a lot of the problems in the region. So the relationship is there still a lot there that that that we work together.
▶ 1:13:27The concern about defense spending though both in Canada and Mexico is a real one. Uh Mexico has terrible security problems and they still are spending less than 1% of their GDP on on security. So we're pushing them as well as Canada to to step up to the plate and and put more money into those those activities. Before you get into a problem where where cartels or others get out of out of control.
▶ 1:13:55So you know, that's that's the policy there is we are we are still very close partners with with with Canada. We're working closely with them, but they we also are urging them to take some steps that that may be uncomfortable for them, but but we want them to uh to do because it would be it would be better for both of us if they do so.
▶ 1:14:18Well, I wish you'd come to my district and tell those businesses that are hurting that you're trying to make nice with Canada so they'll come back to see us and send their tourists and buy our products, but I doubt if that's it's going to be much consolation to Uh shifting back to Cuba, I you know, that the Cuban people are suffering one of the worst uh humanitarian and energy crisis in decades if not ever with blackouts that last 20 hours a day and little food and
▶ 1:14:49no sources of energy. One in five Cubans has left the country. We've been doing this same policy over and over. You've been there for 50 years. You've been involved in this almost the entire time. I think it's time for a recalibration or maybe if you don't, you could tell us what policy change has occurred during that time as a result of this policy and why it should be continued.
▶ 1:15:17Well, let me give you a little bit of a policy change that happened just recently on the on the fuel oil front. For some time under the US regulations, suppliers private fuel suppliers in the United States could supply fuel to private businesses in Cuba and have done so. Just like we sell hundreds of millions of dollars of food and and medicine to Cuba every year.
▶ 1:15:42We this administration just expanded that out to say that the suppliers of fuel here we expanded the range of suppliers so that it isn't just a few companies but anybody who wants to get in that business can do it and that second the recipients can be not only private businesses in Cuba but humanitarian organizations, diplomatic you know, churches uh and this would be the way if they wanted hospitals to to
▶ 1:16:13uh get fuel for their generators and so on they would be able to do it that way. What we've seen over the years even 30 years ago when I lived in Cuba power was out a great deal of the time. It's not just fuel. It's it's their the state of disrepair. The generators in in Havana when I was there had been installed during the American occupation in 1902 and they were still trying to milk a little bit of electricity out of them.
▶ 1:16:43So, we we want to see that change. We're not trying to keep food and medicine or supplies going in to to help people in Cuba. But, what we were seeing before, Venezuela was sending them like a 70,000 barrels a day of oil essentially for free.
▶ 1:17:02And the Cubans, instead of using it to run generators, were selling like 60% of that on the open market to get hard currency that get then goes into their overseas bank accounts for their for their military.
▶ 1:17:15is that we've been doing the same thing over and over for 50 years with some goal in mind. I I guess to get rid of Castro. And yet, the policy in the government has changed very little during that time. So, apparently, this policy isn't working. And you make mention this energy change, but what we're seeing in the paper is telling the military to get ready to move into Cuba. Do you think that kind of military invasion is really the way to address a humanitarian crisis?
▶ 1:17:46I'm not I'm not uh Well, maybe that reporting's not accurate, but that's what we're seeing. Thank you. I yield back. And [snorts] I just uh want to follow up and what my colleague is saying is that Cuba has been the center of uh the hemisphere for the last 65 years. And I'm sure that all my colleagues, the Dems and the Republicans, the Cubans in Miami, the Cubans on the island, they all want the same thing. Is how do we get there? Yep.
▶ 1:18:16And I just want to reemphasize, and I remember I was a journalist when Obama had this illusion or this desire, noble desire, to give the Cubans what my other colleagues have been mentioning, including the ranking member. We all want the same thing.
▶ 1:18:34But, unfortunately, when the Castro regime realizes and understands that they are being threatened, they promise and they say anything in order just to buy more time, which is what happened with President Obama. If the Cuban If the Cuban regime would have given Obama what they promised, right now Cuba would be would be having the Chinese model. But, the Cuban regime was so afraid of the Miami Cubans that they did not even allow for that to happen at the expense of the Cuban population.
▶ 1:19:06I just want to hear a few more thoughts about um I understand that it's it you cannot share a lot of the information of what's going on, but if there's anything else that you can tell my constituents and the rest of the the committee will be holding a classified briefing for members on Venezuela and Cuba on Monday night for any questions that cannot be addressed in this forum.
▶ 1:19:31But, uh the Miami odd the Miami news outlets are listening to you. Uh this is a glorious moment for my Is there anything else you can share um to the Cubans and to this committee that you have not said before? Well, I think one thing I would note in response to the representative's point about the same policy for all these years.
▶ 1:20:00I mean, other countries have had the opposite policy and that hasn't changed anything either. Uh I think the the you know, the the Cuban regime gets a vote in this, too. It uh the problems in Cuba are not something that anything we are could could do or stop doing would change. The the they don't have the money to buy fuel because they don't produce anything. And they they were dependent on others giving them free uh fuel.
▶ 1:20:29And and you You unless we start doing that, it isn't going to uh they're not going to get out of the woods. So, they need what we're trying to do is get them to face up to the fact that they've got to come into the real world and deal with some of these Now, how how they decide
▶ 1:20:48there. But, you understand that their willingness has never been to deal with any of those problems. Their only concern has been to stay in power. Yes,
▶ 1:21:00At all costs, with no vulnerable points, regardless of Look at what's happening in Cuba right now. No food, no electricity, no water, no medicine, no clothes, no freedom. Nothing. They're zombies being fed by people that I represent in Miami. Do you see what of you the information you have? Right now, Fidel is dead. Thank God. Yep. Raul is 95 years old.
▶ 1:21:28At that age, you don't make too many that many decisions because biologically you are not fit. We're talking to the son and the grandson. Those are Those are new generation that they're my generation. Can you share with us is Do these people have a different type of mentality now that they are Gen Z or millennial? They are not people from La Sierra. They did not fight in 1959. Yeah. Now, I think
▶ 1:21:56have have to I would like to imagine that there's going to be a Prince Juan Carlos in in in that family. Yeah. No, I I without getting into who exactly, but but speaking on the the generational point that you're making, I think that is a significant difference. That you don't have people who you know, grew up thinking about nothing but the the revolution and all of its great ideals.
▶ 1:22:22Now, you have people who are kind of looking around, even from within the regime, saying, "Why are we so poor and and uh uh and and backward? Uh why why do we not have internet access? Why do we not have investment in our country? Why do we have the same buildings we had uh 75 years ago? Um why do we have the same electric plants we had for 100 years? It's because they haven't been able to do anything.
▶ 1:22:50So, there are some people, I think, who are saying, "How do we get out of this?" But, the trouble is, as you have the whole system was set up to prevent anybody from having any change or or making having any initiative other than the one great man
▶ 1:23:07don't have the resources right now to continue the repressive and the invincibility of the regime in the minds of the Cubans is collapsing.
▶ 1:23:16Yes. Thank God that is that psychologically speaking the Cuban the average Cuban understands now the regime is not so invincible because Donald Trump is out of the White House. I want to but I'm saying let's go back to the people that hold the real power, the Castros. There are two Castros. And they're young. And one of them is the the grandson who I have seen videos of him saying dancing cuz everyone wants to dance, consume, drink, travel, live, right?
▶ 1:23:46The American way. Everyone wants the abundance that we have in this society, including the Castros. He was dancing on a video saying, "Hey, it feels like we're in Miami." Uh so, yeah. So, so is there any way that that can you share with us what's coming from it's what's in their Well, well, I think what I'm saying is that sentiment is certainly out there even within the the younger generation of the regime.
▶ 1:24:16The question is, can they figure out a within that system that was designed to stultify any kind of initiative or creativity or anything can they figure out a way to move from that to get to their aspiration of having something like Miami where they can They have to open up the democratic game and have the Cubans allow for them to vote whomever they want they want to be
▶ 1:24:42where you know, if if they can come to that realization and and make real changes not just promises that Do you feel any inclination that they may whomever we're talking to that they may be seeing that I see indications within the society including the people in the regime that that there are people who who at least think that they need to modernize in some way whether whether they're ready to bring themselves to putting their own
▶ 1:25:12power and influence at at risk I don't know but I think they realize also that their own power and influence is at risk simply because they're not able to produce anything anymore they aren't able to produce outside supporters. I mean what's really interesting is when you look around the nobody is running to try to bail the regime out and our main point with the other countries has been you know, this is like trying to get somebody to quit smoking.
▶ 1:25:40You know, you you don't help them when they're suffering by saying oh here I'll give you a a cigarette. That all that does is postpone them the day of reckoning for them but it doesn't it doesn't change the the ultimate outcome. So we're saying to everybody keep driving home to them that they they are at a point where they've got to make some really fundamental decisions about their political and and economic and social and you know, if they if they make the right choices there are lots of things that all of us can
▶ 1:26:10do to help them. If they make the wrong choices there's nothing we can do to help them. But there's one message that we need to send to the State Department to Marco Rubio. I don't have to tell you he is part of my community. He is Cuban-American, first generation, just like I am. That my community, the Cuban exile community, is not going to be willing to negotiate with anything that has to do with that regime. As my colleague was saying, the Venezuelan model cannot be possible in Cuba.
▶ 1:26:37It will not happen because my community will completely and absolutely repudiate the the fact of dealing with anybody to do with the Castro regime. And that is just my message as a congresswoman district number 27, knowing my community very well, that that and I'm sure that you know that too, sir. One more question and then if if the ranking member would like to ask make a couple of more comments about Colombia.
▶ 1:27:03Colombia, we know that there's going to be very soon presidential elections. Two of the two of the top contenders, Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia, they have received death threats and we are concerned for their safety. Colombia being one of our most important allies in the Western Hemisphere, what can we say, you, the State Department and the United States Congress, to those who may be thinking about harming these two people?
▶ 1:27:33Yeah, they I mean they for the people who are thinking about harming them, will face uh terrible retribution if they should even try it. But we're our objective is that nobody gets near enough to even try. We've we've have very serious concern about those threats.
▶ 1:27:53We after we saw Senator Uribe be killed, we've we've uh gone and talked with the Colombian authorities, particularly the Colombian National Police, who put more people on it. Uh we've worked with them over the years on, you know, how to run a protective detail and that kind of thing. So, we're we're cooperating with the protective authorities to guard all the candidates against any kind of of threats, but it's uh it's very concerning.
▶ 1:28:21Colombia, you know, had enough years of political violence that they don't need to go back to that anymore. Thank you. And the last question is, do you know Well, you you're aware that the the forces surrounding Maduro when we went to capture him were Cubans. 32 of them died cuz we know that Maduro did not trust their own Venezuelan guards. They needed to go to the the big concho, the repressive Cuban regime.
▶ 1:28:47Can you confirm that all the Cuban agents in Venezuela have left the country and they are not cooperating with the Delcy transition Yeah, the information I've seen is that hundreds and hundreds of the Cubans have left. And I I think the I can't say that every last one is out of there yet, but they're they're leaving in droves, Uh being withdrawn back to the island. That's a good thing for the Venezuelans.
▶ 1:29:16The the Cubans had were put in all the security forces to watch after the security forces to keep them from doing anything against Maduro. And we saw that when Maduro would come to the UN, all of his bodyguards were Of course.
▶ 1:29:32So, it was unfortunate for the Cubans that they were in the way there, but uh Yeah, I think that's been a that's been a a major uh positive move in Venezuela is the Cubans getting out, Iranians. Uh we a lot of the more uh malicious Iranians that were there are also out. We need to see more progress towards democracy from Delcy Rodriguez.
▶ 1:30:00We need to see more contracts being signed, American companies wanting to invest in the oil sector in Venezuela that Delcy Rodriguez is just not signing. So, we need to see from the State Department, our State Department, forcefully more actions towards the democra- dem- democracy and towards the free market economy, openness and uh when it comes to the oil sector. And I'm sure you agree with me, Ambassador.
▶ 1:30:27Very much agree. Uh we I mean, we know where we want to end up. The only observation I would make is if, you know, 6 months ago if we'd said we would be where we are now, everybody would have thought it was unbelievable. So, you know, we we'd like to be able to do it in an instant, but you know, we've had 3 months.
▶ 1:30:46We've made a lot of progress, but our our sort of metric on this is to look, are we every day making more progress, not if we get stalled, that's not where we want to be. We want And as I mentioned in my in my opening statement, you know, just today another 50 uh uh political prisoners got released. That's great, but there's still another you know, 250 or so that that also need to be released.
▶ 1:31:13Over. And we're here to help you. Thank you. I'll yield back. Now, I recognize ranking member Castro of Texas. Uh thank you, Chairwoman. And just to circle back here, you know, I was asking earlier about the negotiations and, you know, I think the Chairwoman just said that she hopes that the Trump administration does not negotiate directly with the Cuban government. Uh yet that's exactly what I believe Senator Rubio may be doing in the Trump administration. I think that's what's going on, right?
▶ 1:31:45Yes. Yes, sir.
▶ 1:31:47It is, right? So, And and the Secretary and the President have both So, you are you are negotiating directly with Cuba. Yes. Okay. And and Just but but I but here's the thing.
▶ 1:31:58with Cuba I mean, we at all kinds of different levels, we have an embassy there, they have one here. We had interest sections before that that that I headed up at one time. Um, so so it's not that you don't
▶ 1:32:12I got it. Part of the part of I guess the irony here is that a lot of the criticism, and much of it well-founded in terms of what the Castro government, that for decades was basically a dictatorship, there weren't free and fair elections, uh, what abused its people, was repressive of its people, and also was a communist country. But, so is China. So is Vietnam.
▶ 1:32:43Those are some of our largest trading Those are two of our largest trading partners for the United States. So, I want you to tell me what the difference is between China and Vietnam and Cuba, except for geography. Yeah, well, geography does matter, uh, but but
▶ 1:33:02is also a fraction of the size of Uh, doesn't have anywhere near the military. Nobody's going to argue that Cuba would overpower the United States So, since we're having a wide-ranging discussion that has gone well beyond our 5 minutes for each member of Congress, please tell me what the difference is between those countries and Cuba.
▶ 1:33:21Yeah. I I would note though that both both Vietnam and China have made even though they still have dictatorial governments, communist governments, they they've made major changes in their societies and in their economies that have have made it possible to have a better
▶ 1:33:39there's a Uyghur genocide going on, don't you? Excuse me.
▶ 1:33:42Are the are are the Chinese committing a genocide against the Uyghurs?
▶ 1:33:46So, what kind of changes have they made that are significant Uh, but in terms of on the economic front, they have privately owned businesses, people and which have turned out to be very subversive, too. Uh in our in our region, but but uh there there's something there to trade with. In Cuba, they don't produce anything anybody wants anymore. They don't produce
▶ 1:34:10but let me but but there it is, right? Like so we But here's the point. But so is it about whether we can make money off of a country? Is that the standard? Like I need to understand cuz my concern is that the Venezuela model will become what happens in Cuba, and you don't actually replace the government, there's no free and fair elections, but what has happened now is that there's a group of folks that the president favors in his circle that is able to commence
▶ 1:34:40commerce and make money off of whether it's valuable minerals, oil, anything else in and so now that's considered an important change that's worthy of trading and being friends with this new Is that what's going on? No, sir. Not in Venezuela and not in Cuba.
▶ 1:35:00In In Venezuela, what's going on is I think as said before, we've been able to get from a an illegitimate government that we couldn't work with because it was headed by a criminal who was doing everything to thwart us to one that we have tremendous leverage over now.
▶ 1:35:19It's still uh an illegitimate, elected government, and we're trying to work with those people to move from where where they were to where we have a free and fair election in Venezuela. Now, if if if uh you're saying is the goal the same in Cuba? Absolutely.
▶ 1:35:39let me ask you on Venezuela cuz you said that there have been important changes. On February 12th, the president said that Delcy Rodríguez had {quote} has done a very, very good job, excellent. On March 4th, the president again said that Ms. Rodriguez {quote} is doing a great job.
▶ 1:35:57He repeated that claim again on March 7th that {quote} she's doing a great Do you agree with the president that Delcy Rodriguez who has continued to detain over 500 political prisoners has done a very, very good job, an excellent job? Yeah. I think if
▶ 1:36:14stand behind the president's statement?
▶ 1:36:16saying did she do a good job of starting to move from where we were with Maduro to where we want to go? Yes, she's she's done things like release uh 600 or so political prisoners, more She's got more to go. She passed the amnesty law, hydrocarbons law, all of those things that Are those by themselves good enough? Are we going to say problem solved, we we love the way it is in Venezuela? No.
▶ 1:36:43But we But what we're saying is that those those steps are steps in the right direction. She's she's done a good job of bringing that about in a fairly short period of time. We want to see the the rest of the steps to get to the final stage where there's a free and fair election, so that includes getting a new electoral tribunal and and setting up that that proper machinery. We'd love to see that in Cuba, too. Um Sure.
▶ 1:37:12Those are I think that's one as you said we all share that those goals, but it's how do you get from here to there? Thank you. We got one more member who's joining us for questions, so I'm going to stop. Yes. I now rec- Thank you. Thank you, ranking member. I now recognize Representative Wasserman Schultz of Florida for 5 minutes or Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair and Mr. Ranking Member.
▶ 1:37:35Uh my both my dear friends, uh and thank you for the extended time and allowing me to make it back as well as wave on. Madam Chair, I I I I I want to associate myself with your remarks in your exchange with Mr. Jackson. Um it is absolutely not hyperbole. Uh the repression that that exists against the Cuban people by their own regime leadership, and it is a regime.
▶ 1:38:03Uh it is an unelected regime that imposes horrific human rights abuses, prohibits free speech, has no free and fair elections, imprisons people for speaking their mind, uh deprives their people of, you know, vital nutrition and resources. this is a place that for many is hell on earth.
▶ 1:38:27And so I I I just want to make sure that bipartisan sentiment and and uh and statement of facts is is on your your very important record. Um so thank you. Ambassador Kozak, thank you very much for the opportunity to uh to be able to engage with you. Um I know you served as the Deputy Special Representative for Venezuela in 2019, correct? Yes.
▶ 1:38:53Um and do you recall the rationale for President Trump's decision then to cease diplomatic recognition of the Venezuelan regime and to impose broad sanctions? Did I Do you Do you recall the rationale then for President Trump's decision to cease diplomatic recognition of the Venezuelan regime and to impose broad
▶ 1:39:13Yeah, it was uh I think it in terms of diplo- it was
▶ 1:39:18Why did he do that? It cease diplomatic relations. we did not have diplomatic relations with the Maduro regime because we considered it was not the the legitimate government of Venezuela. The National Assembly elected in 2015 found the the presidency to be vacant and nominated or elected uh Juan Guaido as as the president and we recognize him. So we maintain diplomatic relations with Venezuela.
▶ 1:39:49It was Right. Just Just with a different government. Right. It was because Maduro's regime rigged the election.
▶ 1:39:53Yeah, absolutely. Brutalized their own people, jailed hundreds of political opponents, enriched themselves at the expense of Venezuelans.
▶ 1:40:00Absolutely. And and Maduro didn't do that alone. Um he had help from Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Diosdado Cabello, and from Delcy Rodriguez. Um today that same regime is in power under a new US back backed dictator. Free elections have not been held. President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez has not been inaugurated. Hundreds of political prisoners have not been freed. And corruption has not been punished. There is no evidence, as you've acknowledged, of a democratic transition.
▶ 1:40:31Um some vague reference to some kind of democratic transition in the distant unknown future is is not progress. Not to my Venezuelan constituents. Um but President Trump decided to lift sanctions on the regime, give up immense leverage in exchange for zero concessions. Zero. And the chairwoman referenced in the exchange with my with our colleague Mr.
▶ 1:40:57Jackson earlier that that's what President Obama did as well, which I opposed by the way at the time because you you a relationship with the United States is earned. That is how I have always thought.
▶ 1:41:13And when you give away the store to a brutal regime either in Cuba or in Venezuela let them enrich themselves essentially do what President Trump has done in this situation, which is essentially allow for oil profits to once again flow, um then that that is not progress.
▶ 1:41:37We we have different definitions of progress if if that's if you if you are pointing to anything that takes steps moving forward because we have the same oil companies that have propped up Maduro for years and now they can make a profit. So, in I see you're nodding your head. Um so, why have sanctions been lifted? Uh sanctions have not been lifted uh representative.
▶ 1:42:01Let me go back and say how they've been modified to actually in in our view give us more leverage than we had before. the the Venezuelans were able to sell oil to China. They were They were at a discount, but they were still making money off that and that was money coming right to them. They did whatever they wanted with it. Large amounts of it went into private bank accounts.
▶ 1:42:27if I can just point out what I mean so I can be specific cuz sanctions have been lifted. Since the removal of Maduro on January 3rd, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control OFAC has issued a number of broad authorizations known as general licenses to loosen sanctions on Venezuela, encourage US investment in the country. Um on April 14th, OFAC issued a license authorizing commercial links with the Venezuelan state central bank and other major state-run Venezuelan financial institutions.
▶ 1:42:56On April 9th, the Venezuelan National Assembly voted unanimously to open mining to foreign investors in an effort to modernize the country's weak mining industry. That law was passed a month after the US interior minister Doug Burgum visited the country along with dozens of American mining executives to meet with the country's acting president Delcy Rodriguez. The list goes on.
▶ 1:43:19The US government introduced limited sanctions relief for Venezuela's oil sector in early 2026 through two key permits tied to recent legal reforms. In addition, as even assuming that all of the lifting of these sanctions is to strengthen the Venezuelan economy, which is what the argument is made, it certainly hasn't strengthened the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
▶ 1:43:45So, I want to ask You're you're arguing that these were limited sanctions really this is limited sanctions relief for economic recovery purposes. How was lifting sanctions on Delcy Rodriguez's personal bank accounts how does that help improve Venezuela's economy? Cuz that happened, too. Let me let me go back again.
▶ 1:44:07The the key in this was we we squeezed off their oil revenues by blocking the tankers and so on that were illegally moving the oil. And then when we after Maduro left, we've what we're doing now is we gave sanctions relief to in a way to ourselves by saying people can can lift oil and sell it on the open market, but all that money goes into an account that we have control over.
▶ 1:44:35So, that was very that's very different. That's why those general licenses are there.
▶ 1:44:40But there are still transactions that are permitted now with Petróleos de And there has been no progress for the Venezuelan people, Mr. All the revenues that are coming from the mining sector and everything instead of going into their bank accounts are coming into the treasury accounts, and then we can dole it out as we see fit including whether we're seeing progress on the on the political front.
▶ 1:45:03But then lifting sanc- giving them sanctions certainly provides a nice cushy landing for oil barons and allowing billions to flow to people who are already rich that are not At making sure that we have free and fair elections, that we rec- that we recognize the elections that already took place, that we have a transition much much more quickly than
▶ 1:45:33is planned now. Now there doesn't appear to be any transition planned. The president keeps saying what a great job Delcy Rodriguez has done. Um I have a very different definition of what great job looks like than you, as do my constituents. Delcy Rodriguez is responsible for crimes including political imprisonment, torture, state violence, massive corruption.
▶ 1:45:54Just because she's on your payroll doesn't change the facts on the And so my constituents and I represent a city that is nicknamed Westenzuela and I live there. we can appreciate that some political prisoners were released, but if the same architecture of repression is still in power and now that's backed by President Trump's political and economic support and power, then Venezuelans are still imprisoned.
▶ 1:46:24And that's how they feel. Yes, I think what we're seeing in Venezuela is people are optimistic that this is going to work. That doesn't mean that that they're going to be happy forever unless it is working.
▶ 1:46:41And we've as I tried to lay out we we're seeing steps that the amnesty law, the uh release of the political prisoners, uh the ability for example of uh Maria Corina Machado's party was able to retake their their headquarters building and start operating again. There's been some openness in the media. That's it's a good first step. It's not enough to get from from where we are to where we need to be.
▶ 1:47:08And the where we need to be part is we need all those steps, we need all political prisoners released, we need all of the political opposition including Maria Corina Machado to be able to go back and campaign.
▶ 1:47:19you're saying that President Trump is not acknowledging Maria Corina Machado. He is not saying that there should be a transition to her party being able to ascend to the presidency and ensure that there is then a transition with a rightfully elected government that we know won the What we're doing here, there is still a culture of fear that is threaded deeply in in and embedded in
▶ 1:47:50Venezuelans and in the and in Venezuela. How are we going to make sure that that culture of fear is lifted and progress true progress for true freedom occurs. Okay, first I would say President Trump and Secretary Rubio have kept talking about the three-phase plan and step three of the the third phase is transition to a democratically elected government. So, I think they are saying the same thing.
▶ 1:48:20We're hearing very different things out of out of the president than apparently because I he disrespected Maria Corina Machado. He dismissed her. He said that she, you know, was didn't have the support of people in the country. Nothing could be further from the truth. Can I Madam Chair, can I just ask I want to just shift gears and cuz I I certainly understand where you're coming from now and you understand where I am about Cuba. Thank you very much.
▶ 1:48:49So, What what's important in Cuba is if we are going to engage in any negotiations with them, those negotiations have to result in concessions, in progress, real tangible progress or it is completely pointless. and you didn't really weren't willing to answer Mr.
▶ 1:49:15Castro's question about the nature of the of the discussions, but certainly we could expect that in negotiations that there would be an expectation that if we soften our relationship with them, take steps on our side that you know, the the binary result the binary discussions could be then they would release at least the July 21st political prisoners that did nothing more than protest in the streets
▶ 1:49:45and voice their opinion about their Can Can we Can we acknowledge that and Is that part of the discussions release of their prisoners?
▶ 1:49:54have been very clear in all publicly and privately with the Cubans that we want to see all the political prisoners released and January 21st for sure. Is the model But Is the model for the discussions in Cuba the same as what has what has occurred in Venezuela? Cuz Cuz if it is, replacing Diaz-Canel with just a different head of the same snake is an an unacceptable outcome.
▶ 1:50:22I would say that the the two countries are very different. Oh, I agree.
▶ 1:50:26Yeah, I mean They are. Venezuela you
▶ 1:50:29President Trump said that he referenced Venezuela as a good model to to repeat in Cuba.
▶ 1:50:35if the good model is that a that a a regime that was not elected and has committed all kinds of uh injustices and and abuses over time. I mean, they they both have those in common. Well, what we can't
▶ 1:50:50But if But if you can get the uh some people in those regimes to start making real changes in the in the direction that we want, that that's a good model. Well, secret negotiations that result in hand-picking a successor from inside the dictatorship, making a deal with the regime for a cut of their blood money, lifting sanctions on the insiders who have brutally repressed Cubans and robbed them blind and then declare mission accomplished cannot be the way this plays out. Thank you.
▶ 1:51:20Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time. Thank you, Representative Wasserman Schultz from the wonderful state of Florida, and I thank Ambassador Kozak for the valuable testimony of the members for their questions. The members of the committee may have some additional questioning for Ambassador Kozak, and we will and we will ask them to respond these in writings.
▶ 1:51:43Pursuant to committee rules, all members may have 5 days to submit statements, questions, and other materials for the record subject to the length limitations. Without objections, the committee is stands adjourned, and once again your patience for having stayed a lot longer than we had agreed to, and but your your this questioning was extremely valuable. So, once again, thank you, and may the Lord help you, and long live the United I yield back.
▶ 1:52:13Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you,