LIVE UPDATES: Pro-Cuba protests in Miami, Washington as demand for response grows
Less than a week after a rare series of antigovernment protests were broken up by police and government sympathizers, and elicited self-criticism from President Miguel Díaz-Canel, things appear calm in Cuba. But many wonder for how much longer?
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Lawmakers continue to speak out in support of the Cuban people Saturday, nearly a week after citizens took to the streets to protest for food, medicine, and political change.
"There are various reasons why the world has not yet seen the full scope of the atrocities being committed by the regime in #Cuba," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted Saturday. "But when the world finally gets to see a complete account of what they done to people, even the most hardened will be horrified and angry."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that the "American people stand with you."
"We hear you. We see you," Cruz tweeted. "And when you cry for liberty, we stand with you against the evil Cuban communist dictatorship."
Julie Chung, an acting assistant secretary in the State Department, called on the Cuban government to free up access to social media and messaging apps in the beleaguered country amid a crackdown on protests.
"There is only one reason to block access to social media and messaging apps. Fear. The Cuban regime fears what the people have to say. It fears the truth," she tweeted.
https://twitter.com/WHAAsstSecty/status/1416533421422039040
Penn State University said it would remove a quote by the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro from the Paul Robeson Cultural Center building Saturday after a campaign led by Erik Suarez, a 22-year-old student who fled Venezuela's socialist regime.
"I wasn’t expecting to see in Penn State a quote from this dictator that had been repressing the people of Cuba for more than six decades and who was the inspiration for the regime that is repressing my country right now," Suarez told Fox News on Saturday. "There was a lot of feelings in that moment because I love my school. My school has given me a lot of opportunities and I have a deep connection with it. Watching it display a Fidel Castro quote hit hard and it was very shocking for me."
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has been one of the most outspoken voices in support of the mass protests in Cuba.
"There are various reasons why the world has not yet seen the full scope of the atrocities being committed by the regime in #Cuba," Rubio wrote on Twitter. "But when the world finally gets to see a complete account of what they done to people, even the most hardened will be horrified and angry."
Cubans protest outside the White House
The protests outside the White House by Cuban exiles are continuing, with defaced images of Che Guevara and calls for President Biden to help those fighting for freedom in Cuba.
Cuban exiles protest outside the White House
Cuban exiles are gathering outside the White House, joined by lawmakers like Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla.
"Mr. President, listen to our #CubanAmerican exile community," she tweeted.
https://twitter.com/MaElviraSalazar/status/1416478840357105664?s=20
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has tweeted out his support to the protesters in Cuba.
"To the people of Cuba, we stand with you. The American people stand with you. We hear you. We see you. And when you cry for liberty, we stand with you against the evil Cuban communist dictatorship."
A few hundred protesters have gathered out front of the Cuba Embassy in D.C. calling for a response to the mass protests on the island nation.
Various activists gathered in a show of support for Cuban freedom, with some arriving from as far as Florida.
“My mother’s been crying for a week every time she watches the news, but she couldn’t be here because I have a little sister,” Gabriela Lastra, 21, told the Miami Herald . She came to Miami from Cuba at the age of 3. “No one else is going to help us, unless we make them help us.”
Hundreds of Cuban American protesters blocked a major expressway in Miami on Tuesday demanding President Biden do more to support the people of Cuba.
"We need Biden’s support," one man with a Cuban flag draped over his back told Fox News. "We haven’t gotten support from the president. So, we are trying to fight, to finish with the communism."
Heavy rains did not stop many who police turned away when they reached the highway. The crowd chanted "SOS Cuba" as a line of cars forced to a standstill honked their horns.
Protesters sent a clear message to Cuba yesterday as the phrase "Cuba Libre" - which means "Free Cuba" - appeared in paint outside the Cuba Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
The phrase is associated with Cuban Independence and the 1959 revolution, according to Reuters. D.C. Department of Public Works crews arrived later in the day to remove the "unauthorized painting."
The mural appeared ahead of a protest planned for late Saturday morning, which is set to see hundreds gather outside the embassy and call for action.
Joey Jones joined "America Reports" to weigh in on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Black Lives Matter blaming the U.S. for supposedly contributing to the problems Cuba is having.
A former Democratic congresswoman from Florida responded to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York – after the latter claimed the United States and its trade embargo "contributed" to Cuban civilians suffering for 62 years under the Communist regime of the Castros and the regime's current heir Miguel Diaz-Canel.
"So as you know, protesters in Cuba have been seen flying our American flag over the past couple of days," Greg Gutfeld writes. "They're offending our students, our professional athletes, our Olympic hammer throwers!"
"So why would a Cuban fly an American flag if it’s not their flag! Perhaps it's a desire to have the same rights we do. To vote, to protest."
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