Senator Rubio Sends Letter to President Biden Calling for the Support of Cuban Protestors

Published Jul. 13, 2021, 5:04 p.m. ET | Updated Jul. 13, 2021

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by: Tyler Shaw

On Monday, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to President Biden calling for support of the Cuban people who have taken to the streets in opposition to Cuba’s communist regime.

Senator Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, has urged the Biden administration to support the Cuban people’s grassroots ‘libertad’ (liberty) movement as they protest 60 years of communism, cruelty, and oppression. 

Senator Rubio’s letter calls for President Biden to take these six steps immediately:

  • First, I ask that you clearly warn the regime that any effort to encourage mass migration will be viewed and treated as a hostile action against the United States.
  • Second, I ask that it become an urgent priority of the United States to facilitate open and free satellite internet access on the island of Cuba.
  • Third, I ask that you instruct the U.S. Department of State to engage with our allies in the European Union and the Western Hemisphere to coordinate a strong rejection and condemnation of the repressive actions taken by the Communist regime against the unarmed people of Cuba.
  • Fourth, I ask that the State Department be tasked with identifying those carrying out acts of violent repression inside of Cuba, and placing these individuals on a list banned from entering the United States.
  • Fifth, I ask that the United States make clear that it is prepared to provide COVID-19 vaccines, and other humanitarian assistance, to the people of Cuba, but only if it is delivered to and distributed by trustworthy and independent international organizations. We must not allow the regime to take possession of such relief and use it as a weapon to force the people of Cuba into compliance with the regime’s demands.
  • And finally, I ask that given the events of the last day, that your administration issue a clear and unambiguous statement that the current U.S. policies towards the regime implemented by the Trump Administration will remain in place.

President Biden on Monday gave a statement saying, “We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime.” The President has yet to comment on Senator Rubio’s letter.

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