[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 168 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 168
Commemorating the 62nd anniversary of the Bay of Pigs operation and
remembering the members of Brigada de Asalto 2506 (Assault Brigade
2506).
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 20, 2023
Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Cruz, and Mr. Scott of Florida) submitted
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 62nd anniversary of the Bay of Pigs operation and
remembering the members of Brigada de Asalto 2506 (Assault Brigade
2506).
Whereas April 17, 2023, marks the 62nd anniversary of the first day of the Bay
of Pigs operation, an event held dear in the hearts of many who long for
the return of freedom, democracy, and justice to Cuba;
Whereas the Communist dictatorship in Cuba that resulted from the January 1,
1959, revolution in Cuba has systematically denied the Cuban people
their most basic human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Whereas, from 1959 until his death in 2016, dictator Fidel Castro, who promised
to implement a revolution against tyranny, systematically violated the
human rights of the Cuban people, curtailed freedom of the press,
arbitrarily imprisoned and killed an untold number of members of the
political opposition in Cuba, and confiscated the properties of citizens
of Cuba and the United States;
Whereas Fidel Castro's dictatorship supported terrorism by providing safe haven
and logistics to terrorist groups and fugitives throughout the world;
Whereas the men and women participating in the Bay of Pigs operation assumed the
title of Brigada de Asalto 2506 (Assault Brigade 2506), which was named
after the serial number (2506) of Carlos Rodriguez Santana, a founding
member of the brigade who died during training exercises in September
1960;
Whereas Assault Brigade 2506 consisted of individuals, primarily Cuban exiles in
the United States, from diverse backgrounds, including doctors, nurses,
engineers, architects, priests, cooks, musicians, actors, business
owners, barbers, bankers, construction workers, office clerks, students,
pilots, and many other individuals representing different sectors in
Cuba;
Whereas, on April 17, 1961, approximately 1,400 individuals selflessly
volunteered to free the Cuban people from tyranny;
Whereas, in the ensuing days, and in the course of a battle against the Cuban
military, which was superior in manpower and firepower, more than 100
men lost their lives;
Whereas the events of April 17 through April 20, 1961, ended with the capture
and imprisonment of 1,204 members or more than 75 percent of Assault
Brigade 2506;
Whereas a large number of the 1,204 captured members of Assault Brigade 2506
were imprisoned in deplorable conditions for close to 18 months,
subjected to harsh and inhumane treatment, and later sentenced without
due process to 30 years of imprisonment;
Whereas, in September 1961, the Cuban regime executed 5 members of Assault
Brigade 2506 who had been captured during the operation;
Whereas 67 members of Assault Brigade 2506 died in combat, including 4 American
pilots and 10 Cuban pilots and navigators, 10 members died while trying
to flee Cuba on a fishing boat that drifted in the Gulf of Mexico for
almost 15 days, 10 members died while being transported to prison by
their Cuban captors inside a sealed truck with limited oxygen, 9 members
were executed by firing squads, and 3 members died while in prison due
to lack of medical attention;
Whereas one of the most heinous acts relating to the operation was ordered by
then Captain Osmany Cienfuegos, who forced nearly 100 male prisoners
into a closed trailer in which they were transported for 8 hours with
limited oxygen;
Whereas the Cuban regime is a party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which
require the humane treatment of prisoners of war;
Whereas, in March 1962, as the trial of the captured fighters approached, the
President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
appealed to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, asking that the provisions of
Article 3 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of
Prisoners of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949, be fully applied, and
for permission to visit the prisoners, but all the requests went
unanswered;
Whereas the 1,113 members of Assault Brigade 2506 who finally returned to the
United States after the operation have made significant and valuable
contributions to the United States, while never forgetting their beloved
homeland;
Whereas, on December 29, 1962, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was presented
with the banner of Assault Brigade 2506 that had reached the shores of
Cuba during the operation, and the President pledged, ``I can assure you
that this flag will be returned to this brigade in a free Havana.'';
Whereas, on April 24, 1986, a joint resolution (Public Law 99-279; 100 Stat.
398) was approved ``Commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
Bay of Pigs invasion to liberate Cuba from Communist tyranny.'';
Whereas Cuba's authoritarian regime continues to arbitrarily detain thousands of
critics, activists, and opponents and continues to deny the people of
Cuba the ability to vote in free, fair, multiparty elections with
independent and opposition candidates;
Whereas Cuba's authoritarian regime has actively fostered and supported anti-
democratic parties and actors throughout the Western Hemisphere,
including the regimes of Nicaragua and Venezuela;
Whereas Cuba is designated as a state sponsor of terrorism by the Department of
State; and
Whereas the Cuban people continue to struggle and demand respect for democratic
values, civil liberties, freedom, and justice: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) remembers all the veterans of Brigada de Asalto 2506
(Assault Brigade 2506), both living and deceased;
(2) honors the courageous veterans of Assault Brigade 2506
who fought for freedom, including those who suffered torture or
perished in the struggle for a democratic Cuba;
(3) calls on the Government of the United States to
continue to support policies that promote the respect for
democratic principles, civil liberties, freedom, and justice in
Cuba, in a manner consistent with the aspirations of the Cuban
people;
(4) recognizes that individual members of Assault Brigade
2506 later joined the United States Armed Forces and fought in
the Vietnam war;
(5) calls for the international community to support and
express solidarity with the Cuban people in their demands for
freedom against the Communist regime; and
(6) recognizes that many veterans of the Bay of Pigs
operation settled across the United States to become productive
members of the society of the United States, including public
officials and industry leaders.
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