(Photo By Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times) “CUBA LIBRE” sign emblazoned on wall in downtown Havana, Cuba.
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
President Joe Biden said Monday the U.S. stands “firmly” with the people of Cuba as thousands of Cubans took to the streets protesting against food shortages and high prices amid the corona virus. It was one of the largest anti-government protests in recent memory. Biden also called on Cuba’s leaders to refrain from using violence to disrupt protests that broke out across the Caribbean nation.
“We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime. The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.”
President Biden statement July 12, 2021.
#Breaking Anti-government protestors marched across Cuba because of food and medicine shortages. Following the massive economic recession and the poor handling of the Pandemic. #Havana #CubaProtests pic.twitter.com/iVLwtNyYg1
— Conflict News (@ConflictCollec1) July 12, 2021
U.S. Biden Administration Has Not Officially Announced Its CUBA Policy
The Biden administration has been wishy washy regarding its policy toward Cuba this far but many view it as following the hard line Trump pursued. However, when pressed Monday by reporters, U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price disagreed that Biden is following Trump Cuba policy. The Trump administration imposed crippling economic sanctions on Cuba. And just days before Trump left office, his administration announced it was returning Cuba to the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, an action designed to complicate any efforts by the incoming Biden administration to revive Obama-era detente with Havana.
“I certainly would not say that we are following the previous – the policy of the previous administration. As you know, our Cuba policy is under review. But importantly – and I think this is a pivotal distinction – our policy, as you heard from the Secretary, it focuses on the well being of the Cuban people, and at the center of that policy are democracy and our human rights. And what we are assessing in the context of that policy review is how the United States can best support the aspirations of the Cuban people. So that policy review remains ongoing. It is something – the issue of human rights on the island is very important to us, and we’re seeing yesterday and today in the streets all throughout Cuba that it is very important, as you might expect, to the Cuban people as well. And as we undertake this review, at the center of that review will be the welfare and the wellbeing of those Cuban people. We have not announced our Cuba policy, but what we have said is that democracy and human rights are at the center of it.”
-Ned Price, US Department of State spokesperson Jul. 12, 2021
