U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.)

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) called for continued international support for the  Cuban people as thousands protest against the government amid high prices and food shortages.  Senator Menendez made the  comments during an interview Tuesday with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC. 

“This should not be a U.S.-Cuba issue. The international community should be listening to the cries of the Cuban people for basic freedoms as recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

-U.S. Senator Menendez said.

Thousands of Cubans took to the streets this weekend in one of the largest anti-government protests in recent memory.

(Photo By Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times)  “CUBA LIBRE”  sign emblazoned on wall  in downtown Havana, Cuba.

President Joe Biden said Monday the U.S. stands “firmly” with the people of Cuba  and called on the socialists government’s  leaders to refrain from using violence to disrupt protests that broke out across the Caribbean nation. 

Regime Has to Change in Order to let the Cuban People Thrive:   Senator Menendez

“The regime has to change in order to let the Cuban people thrive,” Chairman Menendez said, condemning the regime’s oppressive tactics to subdue people across the island. “This is one of the largest, most significant protests because it spans the whole of the country, not just Havana… this is an extraordinary moment, one that I hope the United States responds to with a series of actions that can be very helpful to the Cuban people.”