President Joe Biden reaffirmed the United States' solidarity for the people of Cuba, as anti-government rallies erupted in the Communist country over the weekend. The president's remarks follow a White House statement in which the US backed the Cuban people and "their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic, as well as the decades of repression and economic suffering that they have been subjected to by Cuba's authoritarian regime."
Thousands of Cubans swarmed in the streets to protest food and medical shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic. President Joe Biden urged Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel's administration to hear their people and fulfill their needs and voiced sympathy for the country's demonstrators. People demonstrated across Cuba on Sunday, in what was described as the largest anti-government gathering in 30 years.
Cuba's largest anti-government protests
Cuba is in the midst of its greatest economic crisis in decades, which has been compounded by an increase in coronavirus infections and a low vaccination rate. In an unscheduled broadcast statement, Daz-Canel blamed the protests on US efforts to incite social unrest by increasing sanctions, warning that demonstrators would be met with harsh retaliation.
It would be a "grievous mistake" for the Cuban dictatorship to blame the demonstrations on the US or any other outside actor, said State Secretary Antony Blinken, as per USA Today. The Obama administration, in which Biden served as vice president, had a different stance on Cuba than the Biden administration.
Former President Barack Obama was working to improve the strained relationship between the US and Cuba. Travel and remittance restrictions were relaxed, the US and Cuban embassies reopened, and the nation was removed from the terrorist list. Obama visited Cuba in 2016 after restoring diplomatic relations with the country.
Former President Donald Trump, on the other hand, reinstated travel restrictions, added the nation to the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, and imposed harsh sanctions. After staff at the US Embassy in Havana were stricken by an illness that caused hearing loss, dizziness, loss of balance, and other neurological symptoms, Trump removed staff from the embassy. Biden has not removed the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
"The Cuban people are demanding their freedom from an authoritarian regime. I don't think we've seen anything like this protest in a long long time, if, quite frankly, ever," Biden said in a brief discussion with reporters at the outset of a meeting with mayors and law enforcement officials to discuss gun violence in the United States, AP News via MSN reported.
The remarks indicated a significant shift in tone from Biden's previous boss, Barack Obama. Demonstrators gathered on Havana's Malecon promenade and elsewhere on the island, which was an unexpected sight given the communist leadership's history of little tolerance for criticism.
Protesters yelled "Freedom," "Enough," and "Unite" as police trailed behind. A US flag was taken out by one motorcyclist, but it was grabbed away by others. Some protestors picked up cobblestones and tossed them at police around 2 1/2 hours into the march, at which time authorities began detaining individuals and the marchers dispersed. At least 20 people were carried away in police cars or by individuals dressed in civilian clothing, according to AP journalists.
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Marco Rubio mocks Biden administration
Senator Marco Rubio is criticizing President Joe Biden's administration for its early assessment of the causes of the large protests that erupted in Cuba on Sunday. Rubio claimed more than 60 years of "socialist rule and persecution, as well as incredible courage from the Cuban people, have led to this historic moment" in a statement provided to Fox News.
His statement contrasted with that of the State Department, which first attributed the historic protests in Cuba to COVID-19 concerns rather than the communist regime. Rubio said the charge, as well as the president's silence over the weekend, was a "major failure."
Rubio wrote to Biden later Monday, saying the latest protests in Cuba "are not simply about present economic difficulties," but about "longstanding and purposeful efforts done by the regime to stifle the Cuban people's economic prosperity and political freedom." Rubio outlined six measures that President Biden's administration should take to help the Cuban people in his letter.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jen Psaki sought to portray the protests as "spontaneous expressions of people who are exhausted with the Cuban government's economic mismanagement and repression." She went on to say that the US is still willing to help Cuba with its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, but that the Cuban government's refusal to join in COVAX - a global initiative focused on providing vaccinations to impoverished countries - has complicated matters.
Related Article: Thousands Join Anti-Government Protests Throughout Cuba Amid Shortages, Price Hikes
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