The Jesse Helms Lecture Series highlights foreign policies that Senator Helms championed throughout his years in office. Senator Helms took a keen interest in Western Hemisphere affairs and was firm in his belief that the U.S. should not appease Communist and authoritarian tyrannies. While serving as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Helms championed the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996 that imposed sanctions on the Castro government and provided assistance to promote democracy and economic freedom in Cuba. Unfortunately, more than 20 years later, repression continues in Cuba despite overtures under the Obama Administration. Moreover, we see its terrible legacy in Venezuela where the Castro regime's leadership has helped turn it into the world's youngest dictatorship as well as increasingly authoritarian tendencies in Bolivia and Nicaragua.

Please join us as Senator Rubio discusses why such repression matters to America and what we should do to counter and overcome it.