Thirty Cubans, including 13 children died Nov. 17, in a human traffic operation resulting in a shipwreck of a U.S. registered boat. The Cuban Adjustment Act, a U.S. cold war law, encourages Cubans to leave their country with the guarantee of immediate residence status and support from a large network of governmental agencies and private individuals based in South Florida.

In a speech by Cuban Foreign Relations Minister Felipe Pérez Roque to the UN General Assembly, Nov. 27, he called for the repeal of the act. He said ironically, “At a time like this, when the United States is stepping up the protection of its borders, its refusal to help regulate the migratory traffic between our two countries would be inexplicably contradictory.”

Roque also challenged the inclusion of Cuba on the U.S. list of “terrorist states.” “This is an affront to the Cuban people,” he said, “who have in fact been the victims of countless terrorist acts organized and financed with total impunity from U.S. territory,” referring to the organized anti-communist network based in Miami.

Six-year-old Elian Gonzalez, who the American people overwhelmingly supported being returned to his father in Cuba, was a victim of that network’s power. Public opinion polls show over 60 percent of the U.S. public think the U.S. should end its embargo and normalize relations with Cuba.