President Joe Biden also declared the United States would consider providing more help to Cuba. Still, they would need absolute certainty that their government would not take advantage of the assistance.
What We Know:
- Biden made his statements on Thursday during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He said the United States is figuring out methods to reinstate Cuba’s internet access. When protests erupted across the island on Sunday, Cuba’s communist government blocked its citizens’ internet connection; this was part of an attempt to stop the world from knowing about the demonstrations. Although leaders reinstated access on Wednesday, the service has been unreliable.
“We’re considering whether we have the technological ability to reinstate that access,” Biden announced.
- The President also stated he would not reestablish US-Cuba remittances over concerns that the regime would confiscate the money. After this announcement, Biden also said he would permit the US may send COVID-19 vaccines to Cuba. However, he would only allow this if he was confident that an international health organization would oversee vaccine administration; Cuba rejected the World Health Organization’s invitation to join their COVAX agency to further experiment in making its own vaccine.
- President Biden additionally dismissed communism and its effects on Cuba. He called communism a “universally failed system” and that he didn’t see socialism as “a very useful substitute.” Furthermore, he considered the island a “failed state” that is repressing its people.
- Biden’s comments follow several Floridian leaders’ pleas for him to take action on the island. On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis sent a letter to Biden asking him to reinstate Cuba’s internet; Lieutenant Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, Republican Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr supported DeSantis’ request and joined him in a Thursday press conference where they urged Biden to do more for Cuba.
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- On Monday, the day after riots began, President Biden released a statement in which he told the Cuban regime to stop focusing on their interests and look to that of the island. Despite this, people across Miami, home to the country’s largest population of Cuban exiles, believed a statement was not enough. As a result, citizens have held several protests this week in each of the city’s municipalities to call more attention to the island’s issue.
- The protests serve as the Cuban-Americans’ demand that Biden prioritizes ending the island’s communist regime. The biggest one occurred on Tuesday when the Florida Highway Patrol allowed demonstrators to shut down the Palmetto Expressway.
Cuban-Americans will continue their efforts nationally. This weekend, a group will travel to Washington, D.C., and protest outside the White House to ensure President Biden takes accountability for his promises.
