CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: US-Cuba Relations

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

BLITZER: -- Foreign Affairs Committee. She's a Republican from Florida.

Let's get another perspective right now. Joining us in THE SITUATION ROOM, Senator Ted Cruz. He's also a Republican from Texas.

Senator Cruz, like Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, your father was from Cuba, so you have a personal stake in what's going on. You've obviously been very much involved in the whole nature of this U.S.-Cuba relationship.

But I want to follow up on a question that I asked her. I asked her why she would disagree with Pope Francis, who played a critically important role in trying to ease this relationship between the United States and Cuba.

I want to play this little clip. This is the spokesman for Pope Francis speaking to CNN earlier today.

Oh, let me read it to you. "Pope Francis, with that letter and with the spirit got it going. Pope Francis is all but -- all for building bridges. It's what he calls the culture of encounter. I'm sure not everyone in the United States is happy with what's happened here. There's no doubt about that. We've already seen that and yet, he," referring to the pope, "he says it's always better to be talking than not talking, and that's really what this was all about."

Your reaction to the role that Pope Francis played in trying to improve U.S.-Cuban relations?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: Well, Wolf, it's good to be with you. I very much admire and respect Pope Francis. He's been a tremendous voice for the oppressed.

But you know, his responsibility, he's not charged with protecting U.S. national security interests. The president of the United States is charged with protecting the national security of our country.

And this action today continues a long pattern. It is the latest manifestation of the failures of the Obama-Clinton-Kerry foreign policy. What we've seen for six years under this administration is that we've been consistently alienating and abandoning our friends and allies and at the same time appeasing and coddling our enemies.

First it was Russia. Then it was Iran. Today it's Cuba. And that only makes America and the world more dangerous. This was a mistake.

BLITZER: All right.

CRUZ: This is throwing an economic lifeline to the Castros at a moment when their regime was vulnerable, and it was a serious mistake.

BLITZER: So you -- do you want the United States to sever diplomatic relations with China right now?

CRUZ: They're qualitatively different. For one thing, anyone doing business with Cuba has to do business through the government so all foreign currency has to go through the foreign government, be transferred into Cuban pesos. And that means that every economic transaction strengthens the regime that is oppressing, that is torturing, that is imprisoning its citizens; that allows no free speech, no free elections and, critically, is 90 miles off of the coast of the United States.

Listen, the Castro regime is an avowed enemy of America. They are allies of North Korea, of Iran, of Venezuela. In fact, they were just caught recently doing an arms deal with North Korea. And the idea that we would strengthen a regime that is a state sponsor of terrorism, that is exporting communism throughout Latin America and is working to undermine America, that only undermines our national security interests.

BLITZER: I want -- you obviously don't want the United States to sever diplomatic commercial ties with China. I just want to pinpoint that, right?

CRUZ: No, that's correct. It's a qualitatively different circumstance. For one thing in China, you can have direct economic relationships without going through the government. You're not required to transfer to Chinese currency.

And the relationship with China is far more complicated. The relationship with Cuba, the Castros have demonstrated manifest hostility and antagonism to America.

You know, it was striking watching President Obama's remarks today. He talked about the Bay of Pigs invasion, and yet he utterly omitted the Cuban missile crisis, one of the greatest threats to our national security in modern times that almost resulted in nuclear weapons right on our shore. And, you know, watching President Obama and John Kerry, it was -- it was yet again blaming America first.

Look, the condition of the relationship between Cuba and America is the direct result of an oppressive, communist dictatorship that has demonstrated manifest hostility to the United States.

BLITZER: Here is a clip ABC News has just released that their anchor David Muir sat down with President Obama, and they had this exchange on U.S.-Cuba relations. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Alan Gross, America watched him come home today. He looked a lot healthier than images we had seen before. I'm curious, have you talked to him yet?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did. I had a chance to talk to him on his flight home. And the first thing he says, "Mr. President, for you I don't mind interrupting my corned beef sandwich."

So I told him he had mustard on his upper lip, but we had a nice -- a nice conversation. He obviously is joyful about being reunited with his family.

MUIR: Will you visit Cuba in your final two years as president?

OBAMA: You know, I don't have any current plans to visit Cuba.

MUIR: Not ruling it out?

OBAMA: Well, let's -- let's see how things evolve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So what do you think, you know? President Obama not ruling out the possibility of showing up in Havana. Some people are suggesting he wants this to be a legacy item for him like Richard Nixon had when he went to China.

CRUZ: Well, listen, all of us celebrate the release of Alan Gross. He has been wrongfully and unjustly imprisoned and mistreated, and I've called repeatedly for his release. I celebrate Pope Francis's involvement. I celebrate the involvement of so many Jewish leaders in America, and that is an unmitigated good thing.

But you know, just like the Obama administration's ill-advised deal concerning Bowe Bergdahl, where they released five senior Taliban terrorists, in this instance the Obama administration released three Cuban spies who were guilty of murdering four U.S. citizens, guilty of spying on Southern Command, on U.S. military installations, and that undermines our national security.

We should be negotiating from a position of strength. And the consistent failing of this administration is that it believes the way to deal with dictators and tyrants is through appeasement. I think weakness is provocative and I believe in peace through strength.

BLITZER: All right.

CRUZ: That's far more effective in protecting our country.

BLITZER: Senator Cruz, we have much more to discuss. I want you to be patient. We'll take a quick break. More with Senator Ted Cruz on this historic day. The president of the United States moving to try to normalize U.S.-Cuban relations. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The huge breaking news today. An historic moment, President Obama directly opening the door to Cuba. The Cuban president, Raul Castro, responding saying he, too, wants to improve relations with the United States.

Once again joining us in THE SITUATION ROOM, Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican from Texas.

Senator Cruz, I want you to respond to Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona. He accompanied Alan Gross on the flight from Havana to here in Washington earlier today. Listen to Senator Flake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: I think that our policy has done more to keep the Castros in power than anything, and so I think it's high time for a change. Fifty years is long enough and that we ought to do this and do whatever we can so that ordinary Cubans can have more control of their destiny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You know, there are a lot of other Republicans who agree with him. Here's the question. You'll have -- the Republicans will have 54 majority in the new Senate. Will you have enough support, do you believe, to substantively, practically change any of the president's decisions, for example, opening up a U.S. embassy, naming an ambassador, easing the restrictions on trade, tourism, stuff like that? Will you be able to block it?

CRUZ: Well, Wolf, I've been encouraged that, in response to the president's announcement today, there has been bipartisan condemnation.

I was encouraged to see Senator Marco Rubio, the Republican, and Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat, both criticized the decision in unambiguous terms. Both of them, like me, are of Cuban-American descent, and both of them understand the enormous mistake this decision represents.

You know, Wolf, I think any fair and impartial observer looking at the last six years would have to conclude that the Obama foreign policy of leading from behind, it hasn't worked, you know.

It began with, in 2009 right when the president was elected, he was announcing that we were going to pull back and not install the anti- ballistic missile battery stations that were scheduled to go in, in Poland and the Czech Republic, and that was an effort to appease --

BLITZER: Let me ask, Senator. I want to interrupt, because I'm trying to get an answer. Will you practically be able to change what the president is trying to do? In other words, will you have the votes to stop funding, to take measures like that to block these initiatives?

CRUZ: It's not clear at this point where the votes will be, but I expect in the Senate to see a far more vigorous voice defending our national security interest. And I am hopeful that we will prevent a bad deal and a bad decision.

And the point I was making on this, there's a reason why I expect to see bipartisan cooperation to rein this in. In 2009, the appeasement of Putin didn't work, and Putin invaded Ukraine, a sovereign nation. Likewise, when President Obama went to Iran, Iran was --

BLITZER: I think we just lost that satellite connection with Senator Ted Cruz. We apologize, but I guess you guys got the point. He is fiercely opposed to what President Obama announced today.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source