A large crowd of pro-democracy demonstrators recently descended on the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C., following unrest in Cuba against the communist government there.
The D.C. demonstrators demanded an end to the communist dictatorship that has controlled and isolated the nation of Cuba for the past 62 years. The crowd carried signs, noisemakers, and Cuban flags and held their demonstration in front of the embassy, located just a few blocks from the White House.
“People are dying. Multiple times, Cuba has helped this country, so it’s time to return the favor,” said one protester.
Another protestor said: “It’s painful for me because I have family back there. They’re hiding right now because they don’t want to be taken.”
This recent U.S. protest follows weeks of protests and unrest on Cuban soil against the communist government over a failing economy, food shortages, and a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
Biden Cuba policy attacked
Criticism of the Biden administration’s policy on Cuba is coming under fire.
President Biden called Cuba a “failed state” but the administration has been criticized for not doing enough to help the people of Cuba. One protestor urged, “At least talk about what is happening. At least say the truth. Give a press conference and talk about it.”
During the Obama administration’s time in the White House, when Biden was vice president, diplomatic relations with Cuba were restored after being frozen for 50 years.
The current administration recently committed to providing uncensored internet access to Cubans and to issue new U.S. sanctions on human rights individual violators since the July 11 crackdown begun by Cuban Army Gen. Alvaro Lopez Miera.
At the protest, an 18-wheeler with “S.O.S. Cuba” spray-painted on it drove laps around the White House while honking its horn. Many of the protesters were born in Cuba, and many still have family there.
While the crowd chanted “intervention,” several Republican politicians took the stage, including Dan Crenshaw, Nicole Malliotakis, Michael McCaul, Michael Walts, Victoria Spartz, and Maria Elvira Salazar.
After the demonstration, the group presented a group message to President Biden, asking him to do something. No elected Democrats attended the protest.
“We are respectfully sending a message to President Biden, please be with the Cubans, we need your leadership we need your guide, we need the White House,” said Salazar, a GOP House rep from Miami, Fla.
“The White House can do two things, rally the international community and turn on the Wi-Fi.”
Thousands of protesters continue to stream toward Washington, some in caravans, from cities and states across the country, including Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, Texas, and California.
