Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Wednesday asked Defense Secretary Ash Carter to rethink an invitation for Cuba to take part in the Caribbean Nations Security Conference set for this month in Jamaica.
The invitation was made after U.S.-Cuba relations were normalized in December 2014, but Cruz, whose father fled Cuba more than 50 years ago, argues
in a letter to Carter that Cuba continues to harbor criminals convicted in the United States and has possession of a dummy American Hellfire missile mistakenly sent to it from Europe.
Cuba also is likely to use the conference to try to pressure the United States to return the land it currently uses to house terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cruz said.
"I would like to know the rationale behind this decision, and I urge you to reconsider this invitation at the very least until the Hellfire is returned to the United States," Cruz said.