U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) echoed Black Lives Matter on Thursday, lashing out against the 60-year-old embargo against Cuba and partially blaming the United States for Cuban suffering, calling it “absurdly cruel.”
“We stand in solidarity with the Cuban people and condemn the suppression of the media, speech and protest. We also call for an end to the U.S. embargo and additional Trump-era restrictions that are profoundly contributing to the suffering of Cubans,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement.
The Democratic socialist labeled the communist regime’s crackdown on Cubans’ freedoms in the press and in the streets as a “gross violations of civil rights.”
“The embargo is absurdly cruel and, like too many other U.S. policies targeting Latin Americans, the cruelty is the point,” the “Squad” member wrote and stated during a town hall. “I outright reject the Biden administration’s defense of the embargo. It is never acceptable for us to use cruelty as a point of leverage against everyday people.”
(Video Credit: Associated Press)
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments echo those of Black Lives Matter who issued a statement that blamed the U.S. embargo for the chaos and instability in Cuba. Their statement, however, praised the communist government for historically granting “black revolutionaries” asylum.
We stand in solidarity with the Cuban people and condemn the suppression of the media, speech and protest.
We also call for an end to the U.S. embargo and additional Trump-era restrictions that are profoundly contributing to the suffering of Cubans. pic.twitter.com/Fw6Quv5TAN
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 16, 2021
Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tweeted a similar response to the embargo, “All people have the right to protest and to live in a democratic society. I call on the Cuban government to respect opposition rights and refrain from violence. It’s also long past time to end the unilateral U.S. embargo on Cuba, which has only hurt, not helped, the Cuban people.”
All people have the right to protest and to live in a democratic society. I call on the Cuban government to respect opposition rights and refrain from violence. It’s also long past time to end the unilateral U.S. embargo on Cuba, which has only hurt, not helped, the Cuban people.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 13, 2021
Black Lives Matter also called for the United States to lift the sanctions and declared that it is a “cruel and inhumane policy instituted with the explicit intention of destabilizing the country and undermining Cubans’ right to choose their own government, is at the heart of Cuba’s current crisis.”
Black Lives Matter has released a statement on Cuba: pic.twitter.com/NgnT1o1oZE
— Sabrina Rodríguez (@sabrod123) July 15, 2021
“No. This is not correct,” tweeted Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represented Florida in the House of Representatives for one term before losing her reelection bid last year. “It’s the failed policies of a communist regime that has violated human rights, imprisoned & killed dissidents. Cuban ppl -young & old- are risking their lives to rise up, we must listen to them. This is a matter of national security. The US must act.”
Many of today’s Democrats have lined up to parrot Black Lives Matter and Ocasio-Cortez over the embargo instead of focusing on the true source of Cubans’ misery – a brutal communist regime. They are screaming for President Biden to lift the embargo which will not solve the issue of freedom or the cruelty of a thuggish, totalitarian dictatorship. It will likely embolden the leadership in the country and deepen the suffering there.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel also blames the U.S. government and Cuban-Americans for stoking unrest in Cuba’s streets. He called on communist revolutionaries to fight back against the protesters. The communists are reportedly killing protesters. Many have disappeared and many more have been thrown into prisons.
The Cuban embargo was initially employed by President John F. Kennedy to fight communism and deter its spread. Modifications to the policy have allowed the U.S. to export food to Cuba.
The embargo was put into place after Fidel Castro overthrew the U.S.-backed regime of Batista in 1959. The U.S. has kept that policy in place to contain the communist regime both economically and diplomatically. Leftists in the United States have found common ground with the communists in Cuba, not with the freedom the people are demanding there.
Former President Barack Obama is the only president to attempt to normalize relations with Cuba. Former President Trump reversed those policies when he came into office and imposed new restrictions as well.
Under the Biden administration, the United States also voted against a U.N. resolution condemning the embargo against Cuba. Ocasio-Cortez and Democrats are now attacking Biden for not lifting the embargo.
Ocasio-Cortez’s call to lift the embargo was not well-received:
Considering the Cubans are being oppressed by an authoritarian regime, an embargo is the best option. Sure, it hurts the people but it hurts the government more. It’s a easier way to bring them to the table.
— Rob (@RobSh1985) July 16, 2021
The sixty years of suffering in Cuba has been caused by socialism a system that promises utopia and delivers violent repression. Also you fail to voice support for accepting the Cubans trying to flee the Cuban regime.
— John Murphy (@jmurphy9894) July 16, 2021
What you’re not seeming to piece together is that the regime will simply steal whatever comes in. Ending the embargo would only benefit the party. This is a feature of the communist system. Furthermore, the embargo doesn’t restrict food and medical aid and hasn’t since 2000.
— (((Howie🌐))) is vaccinated (@Howitzer203) July 16, 2021
The problem is not the embargo but the brutality of the regime which needs to go.
— Rupert Villanueva (@RupertVillanue2) July 16, 2021
If that’s the case, why is this the flag that the Cuban protestors carry? pic.twitter.com/e02kKnI7g6
— Ralph Smith (@rsmitty109) July 16, 2021
Here’s the problem with progressives like AOC and why victims of communism/socialism don’t trust them: they spend more time attacking US policy towards Cuba than attacking Cuban policy towards Cubans.
Yes, the embargo is a relic, but the focus should be on the communist regime. pic.twitter.com/ygfkmtIhe9
— Russell Drew (@RussOnPolitics) July 16, 2021
Sorry, deeply sorry, but you’re wrong. There’s no other way to say it to you. US embargo is not the main reason and will never be. Cuban people lives under a dictatorship, and we, the Cuban people, claim for FREEDOM. Spread the word!!!
— Rainses Riffa Noa (@riffanoarainses) July 16, 2021
Cubans know about the embargo but can you hear them asking for the embargo to finish or they begging for freedom and help from the U.S government? My people ask for freedom!!!
— williamhdz (@william12884874) July 16, 2021
Does this take into consideration that humanitarian aid is NOT embargoed and that the US sends Cuba more food than any other nation(which is a lot since Cuba imports 70% of its food)? And, if your conclusion is true, why are there American flags being waved in Cuba?
— arlene (@amembrey68) July 16, 2021
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