A Cuban artist has accused the Black Lives Matter movement of disregarding Cuban black lives, after the organization put out a statement blaming the U.S. government’s “cruel and inhumane” economic embargo for the current unrest in Cuba.
In its statement, Black Lives Matter also praised the communist regime for its “solidarity” by granting asylum to “black revolutionaries.”
The statement came in response to demonstrations that erupted in Cuba nationwide on July 11 amid widespread shortages of basic goods and demands for political rights.
The regime admitted some of its shortcomings last week, but mostly blamed the protests on U.S.-financed “counter-revolutionaries” exploiting economic hardship caused by U.S. sanctions.
Leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, who also heads the country’s Communist Party, said that Cuba’s “enemy has once again thrown itself into destroying citizen’s sacred unity and tranquility.”
“We convened you to denounce once more the blockade, the aggression, and terror,” Díaz-Canel said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) echoed Blacks Lives Matter’s sentiment on July 15, when she blamed the suffering of “everyday people” in Cuba on the nation’s 60-year-old embargo.
“Last month, once again, the U.N. voted overwhelmingly to call on the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba. The embargo is absurdly cruel and, like too many other U.S. policies targeting Latin Americans, the cruelty is the point. I outright reject the Biden administration’s defense of the embargo. It is never acceptable for us to use cruelty as a point of leverage against everyday people.”
Cuban American Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whose family fled communist Cuba, was quick to denounce Black Lives Matter for their comments.
Rubio called on the Biden administration last week to simultaneously maintain sanctions on Cuba and stand with the Cuban people in their fight against communism.
“They’re shooting people that literally are unarmed ... and we should be clear. We should be clear in our language. We don’t just condemn this tyranny, we condemn this communist, this Marxist, this socialist tyranny,” Rubio said on the Senate floor. “No. 2, we should make clear, nothing’s going to change. There’s not going to be any sanctions changed as a result of this.”
President Joe Biden and White House press secretary Jen Psaki have both spoken against the ruling regime, with Psaki describing communism as a “failed ideology” last week.