Powerful House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida has accused Irish supporters of erecting a statue for radical ‘Che’ Guevara in Galway of condoning murder and mayhem.

The controversy continues after Galway City Council supporters of Che, who had Galway roots through his maternal grandmother Lynch, passed a motion calling for a statue to be erected in his honor
 
“I find it very troubling and hurtful that supporters of a proposed monument to Che Guevara are going out of their way to manipulate or ignore history in an attempt to find reasons to honor their wannabe icon, Che Guevara,” she said 
 
“There is no sugarcoating what Che did, what he stood for, or what the brutal dictatorship he helped establish has done for decades to the Cuban people. Che was bloodthirsty, power hungry, and a human rights violator who took pride in taking innocent life.
 
“It is deeply disappointing that after so much suffering and sacrifice by former Cuban political prisoners at the hand of Che and other Castro thugs, some still refuse to admit that Che Guevara’s legacy is one of hate, murder, violence, bigotry, and totalitarianism. I urge all people to learn more about the many victims of Che, and to stand up for the rights, liberty, and basic dignity which Che took from them.”