By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS
Herald Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- The incoming Republican chairman of the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee once blasted the proposed Helms-Burton Act as ``unworkable'' and the product of ``paranoid behavior'' by people fixated on the demise of Cuban President Fidel Castro.
In remarks that went largely unnoticed at the time, Rep. Elton Gallegly of California predicted that Helms-Burton ``will not bring down Castro any faster'' and ``will result in the perverse effect of further isolating'' the United States from its allies, who disagree with the approach.
Gallegly succeeds Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., who co-authored the embargo-tightening bill with Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina.
Gallegly's comments are another indication that he intends to change the focus of the subcommittee, which under recent chairmen -- New Jersey Democrat Robert Torricelli and then Burton -- often concentrated on Cuba to the exclusion of larger neighbors. He hopes to shift the spotlight to economic and political conditions in Mexico, aides said.
``That is not to say that we should give up our attempts to rid the island of Castro,'' Gallegly said in written comments entered into the Congressional Record for Sept. 20, 1995. ``But the almost paranoid behavior of many in this nation with respect to Castro is no longer justified. Cuba is no military threat to the United States. Cuba is no longer a viable model for socialism. It is no longer a model for anything or anybody. So why the fixation?''
Gallegly went on to urge engaging Castro in a ``diplomatic dialogue'' in the same manner Washington deals with leaders in China and North Korea.
``Why shouldn't the United States policy toward Cuba be changed to reflect the same approach that we take toward every other communist dictator in the world?'' he asked.
Vince Morelli, a Gallegly aide, said Thursday that the congressmen stands by those remarks, even though he later voted to approve the law. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Helms-Burton Act after Cuban air force MiGs downed two unarmed planes of Miami-based Brothers to the Rescue last February, killing the four pilots.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Cuban-American lawmaker who was edged out by Gallegly for the Western Hemisphere chairmanship, was circumspect.
``We know there are a lot of folks in Congress who have reservations about the embargo,'' said Ros-Lehtinen spokesman Juan Cortinas. But, noting Gallegly's vote for Helms-Burton, he added: ``We judge people by their actions, not by their words.''
Copyright © 1997 The Miami Herald