Boehner Urges Obama to Condemn Assault on Cuban Dissidents in Panama

On Wednesday, Cuban government supporters assaulted the country’s dissidents at a civil society forum prior to the official start of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama should denounce Wednesday's attack on Cuban democracy activists by Cuban government supporters at the civil society forum in Panama, US House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement on Thursday.

“I hope that President Obama, if and when he has a conversation with the Cuban dictator during the Organization of American States Summit, will take the opportunity to condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms,” Boehner stated.

On Wednesday, about 100 Cuban government supporters assaulted the country’s dissidents while attending a civil society forum prior to the official start of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, according to media reports.

Boehner said the assault is an outrage and it raises questions about the White House decision to revisit diplomatic relations with Havana as well as to remove Cuba from the US State Department’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

Obama and his Cuban counterpart will participate in the Seventh Summit of the Americas, which will start in Panama City on April 10.

While no bilateral meeting between the two has been formally planned, White House officials said on Tuesday that spontaneous discussions may occur.

Obama announced in December 2014 that Washington would normalize relations with Havana, ease travel and trade restrictions, but would keep the full set of congressionally-mandated sanctions in effect.