Texas Sen. Ted Cruz voices support for Cuban protests

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz voiced his support for Cuban protests Monday and called on the Biden administration to do the same.

“The Cuban people have fought against the tyranny of the Communist regime for decades, and have taken to the streets demanding liberty,” Cruz said in a statement.

“This regime has brutalized and denied freedom to generations of Cubans, forcing many including my family to flee or be murdered, and over the coming days will widen its violence to try to suppress the brave protesters in the streets.”

Cuba’s streets filled with thousands of protesters Sunday as they decried the country’s economic conditions, pandemic response, and lack of freedom. In Havana, protesters shouted for “freedom” and an end to the presidency of Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz, was born in Cuba and was a member of the Cuban Revolution as a teenager. He left Cuba for the United States in 1957. Rafael later became a critic of the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro, whose Communist Party of Cuba is still in power today.

“There’s no doubt the Communist Cuban regime will be consigned to the dustbin of history — where despots and dictators are not absolved for the suffering they inflicted on their citizens,” Cruz said in a statement.

Cruz also called for the Biden administration to support the Cuban protesters. The White House released a statement supporting the protesters later Monday morning.

“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,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

“The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.”