Post date: Dec 10, 2013 11:5:28 PM
At congressional hearing in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defended PresidentBarack Obama for shaking the hand of Cuban leader Raul Castro at Nelson Mandela's memorial service
WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 10) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) - U.S. President Barack Obama shook hands with Cuba's Raul Castro at a memorial forNelson Mandela on Tuesday (December 10), a rare gesture between the leaders of two ideological opponents that reflected the anti-apartheid hero's spirit of reconciliation.
According to the White House, the handshake was not planned and the two did no more than exchange greetings. But the gesture infuriated U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican and Cuban-American, who laid into U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a committee hearing back in Washington."Mr. Secretary, sometimes a handshake is just a handshake, but when the leader of the free world shakes the bloody hand of a ruthless dictator like Raul Castro, it becomes a propaganda coup for the tyrant," she said. "Could you please tell the Cuban people living under that repressive regime that, a handshake notwithstanding, the U.S. policy toward the cruel and sadistic Cuban dictatorship has not weakened?"
"Ladies and gentlemen, today is about honoring Nelson Mandela," Kerry later replied. "And the president's at an international funeral with the leaders from all over the world. He didn't choose who's there, they're there to honor Mandela."
He urged members of Congress to read the president's tribute to Mandela, noting the President said leaders should honor Mandela by "upholding the basic human rights of their people."
"And would you say Raul Castro is upholding basic human rights?" Ros-Lehtinen interrupted.
"No. Absolutely not," said Kerry.