BLM blames ‘cruel and inhumane’ US embargoes for Cuba unrest and praises communist regime
BLM blames ‘cruel and inhumane’ US embargoes for Cuba unrest and praises the communist regime for granting ‘Black revolutionaries’ asylum as ’embarrassing’ statement sparks furious backlash led by Marco Rubio
- Black Lives Matter accused US of causing the instability that sparked protests
- Activists also praised the regime for showing ‘solidarity with oppressed peoples’
- Demonstrations over food shortages and rising prices have rocked the island
Black Lives Matter has blamed the ‘cruel and inhumane’ US for the current unrest in Cuba as the activists praised the communist regime for its ‘solidarity’ with oppressed people.
The group sparked a furious backlash with the statement shared online following a week of violence on the island and furious protests over food shortages and rising prices.
BLM accused the US of causing the instability with its embargoes which have caused ‘pain and suffering’ for Cubans for 60 years.
Black Lives Matter has blamed the ‘cruel and inhumane US for the current unrest in Cuba as the activists praised the communist government
Sen. Marco Rubio slammed the statement, saying: ‘The extortionist ring known as the Black Lives Matter organization took a break today from shaking down corporations for millions & buying themselves mansions to share their support for the Communist regime in #Cuba.’
In a post shared to its 4.5million Instagram followers, BLM said: ‘Black Lives Matter condemns the US federal government’s inhumane treatment of Cubans, and urges it to immediately lift the economic embargo.
‘This 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.
‘Since 1962, the United States has forced pain and suffering on the people of Cuba by cutting off food, medicine and supplies, costing the tiny island nation an estimated $130billion.
BLM accused the US of causing the instability with its embargoes which have caused ‘pain and suffering’ for Cubans for 60 years. Pictured: protests against Cuban government in Miami
Sen. Marco Rubio slammed the statement from the ‘extortionist ring’ following the week of unrest
‘Without that money, it is harder for Cuba to acquire medical equipment needed to develop its own Covid-19 vaccines and equipment for food production. This comes in spite of the country’s strong medical care and history of lending doctors and nurses to disasters around the world.’
On Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied claims the US was to blame for the unrest.
He said a mismanaged economy was the root of the problems which have seen people take to the streets.
BLM’s statement continued: ‘The people of Cuba are being punished by the US government because the country has maintained its commitment to sovereignty and self-determination.
‘United States leaders have tried to crush this revolution for decades. Instead of international amity, respect and goodwill, the US government has only instigated suffering for the country’s 11 million people – of which four million are Black and Brown.
Rubio warned on Wednesday that Cuba faces a ‘horrific bloodbath’ if the Biden administration doesn’t step in
‘Cuba has historically demonstrated solidarity with oppressed peoples of African descent, from protecting Black revolutionaries like Assata Shakur through granting her asylum, to supporting Black liberation struggles in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and South Africa.
‘Now, we look to President Biden to end the embargo, something Barack Obama called for in 2016. This embargo is a blatant human rights violation and it must come to an end.’
Shakur, a former member of the Black Liberation Army, was convicted of being an accomplice to the murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster in 1973.
She escaped prison and Fled to Cuba where she was granted asylum by Fidel Castro.
She is still wanted by the FBI and there is a $2million reward for her capture.
Cuban American demonstrators gather in the Little Havana section of Miami on Wednesday to protest the government
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Wednesday acknowledged shortcomings in his government’s handling of shortages and of neglecting certain sectors, but he urged Cubans to not act with hate – a reference to violence during recent street protests
Many online shared their outrage at the BLM statement, with Donald Trump reelection strategist Giancarlo Sopo branding it ‘disgusting’.
He said: ‘Despite the Cuban dictatorship’s murdering and beating of protestors (many of them Black), BLM’s statement on Cuba…condemns the U.S., praises the Castro regime, and makes no mention of the atrocities being committed by the dictatorship.’
On Wednesday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged shortcomings in his government’s handling of shortages and of neglecting certain sectors, but urged Cubans to not act with hate.
In a nighttime address on state television, Díaz-Canel admitted that failings by the state played a role in the protests.
‘We have to gain experience from the disturbances,’ he said.
Thousands of Cubans took to the streets from Havana to Santiago on Sunday chanting ‘down with the dictatorship’ in the biggest anti-government demonstrations on the Communist-run island in decades
A man is arrested during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana on Sunday
‘We also have to carry out a critical analysis of our problems in order to act and overcome, and avoid their repetition.’
The president’s comments came as pressure mounted on the Biden administration to take action in support of antigovernment protesters on the island.
Dozens of Cuban Americans and their supporters gathered outside a Cuban restaurant in the Little Havana section of Miami on Wednesday for the fourth straight day to demand that President Biden intervene.
Rubio warned on Wednesday that Cuba faces a ‘horrific bloodbath’ if the Biden administration doesn’t step in – while White House press secretary Jen Psaki refused to condemn the communist regime amid a state crackdown on demonstrations in Cuba and instead blamed ‘government mismanagement’.
‘A horrific bloodbath is what awaits if action is not taken. So far the response has been weak, weak. Why?’ Rubio tweeted with a video on Wednesday.
Riot police who were clad in black body armour and helmets while carrying batons and shields were seen arresting dozens of demonstrators who had gone out to protest again on Monday
‘What I have asked the Biden administration to do – and I asked them two days ago to do – is I asked them to use diplomacy that they brag about,’ Rubio said.
‘Convene the United Nations, convene the Organization of American States in emergency session.
‘Pressure or shame the international community into condemning and isolating that regime, and pressure them to be prepared to take action to prevent a bloodbath,’ he said.
‘Not halfway around the world, not in the Middle East, not in another continent, right here, 90 miles from our shores.’
Cuba is suffering its worst crisis in years from a combination of the coronavirus pandemic that has paralyzed its economy, including the vital tourism industry, inefficiencies in the state-run economy and the tightening of US sanctions on the island.
Riot police walk the streets of Havana on Monday as protesters carry wooden bats
The administration of President Donald Trump imposed more than 200 measures against the island in four years.
Díaz-Canel said that this ‘complex situation’ was taken advantage of ‘by those who do not really want the Cuban revolution to develop or a civilized relationship with respect with the United States.’
President Biden called Cuba an ‘authoritarian’ regime even as the White House refused to get cajoled into going after its ideology.
‘The Cuban people are demanding their freedom from an authoritarian regime,’ Biden said in a statement Monday.
