The Stars and Stripes rose Friday over the newly opened U.S. Embassy for the first time in 54 years, making a symbolically charged victory lap for the Obama administration’s new policy of engagement with Cuba...

... NJ Sen. Robert Menendez issued a statement about the flag raising Friday and called it “shameful.”

“A flag representing freedom and liberty will rise today in a country ruled by a repressive regime that denies its people democracy and basic human rights. This is the embodiment of a wrongheaded policy that rewards the Castro regime’s brutality at the expense of the Cuban people’s right to freedom of expression and independence,” Menendez said.

“It is shameful that on the grounds of our embassy in Havana, the Cuban regime can dictate to the United States government who may or may not attend this ceremony. If dissent is denied in the courtyard of the U.S. Embassy, it will never be allowed anywhere in Cuba. These are not values I associate with the United States. This is a one-sided deal that is a win for the Cuban regime and a loss for the Cuban people. The U.S. Embassy in Havana will be a hollow one, with the Cuban government limiting our diplomats the freedom of movement. It will be diplomacy for show, not in practice. The United States’ flag should only fly in Cuba when the island is free, when dissent is embraced, and when democracy is restored.”

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