AOC Rips Biden Administration for Keeping ‘Absurdly Cruel’ Cuba Embargo: ‘I Outright Reject’ Their Defense of the Policy
This week’s unrest in Cuba has caused something of a fissure in the Democratic party. And now, one of the most notable figures on the Left is taking on President Joe Biden’s administration over a Cuba policy she deems to be absurdly cruel.
In a statement posted Thursday to Twitter, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tore into the White House for its defense of the embargo on Cuba.
“The embargo is absurdly cruel and, like too many other U.S. policies targeting Latin Americans, the cruelty is the point,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “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.”
We stand in solidarity with the Cuban people and condemn the suppression of the media, speech and protest.
We also call for an end to the U.S. embargo and additional Trump-era restrictions that are profoundly contributing to the suffering of Cubans. pic.twitter.com/Fw6Quv5TAN
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 16, 2021
In a video statement (via Fox News), the New York Democrat added, “what’s extraordinarily important for us to communicate as well as the actions and U.S. contributions to the suffering of Cubans on the island as well. And that is directly related to the embargo, the U.S. embargo.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments follow remarks from President Biden in which he rejected Communism as a “failed system,” which has led Cuba to become a “failed state,” and criticized Socialism as an alternative.
“Communism is a failed system, universally failed system,” Biden said during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday. “I don’t see socialism as a very useful substitute, but that is another story.”
Biden added that he’s considering “a number” of measures to help the Cuban people including a shipment of Covid vaccines — but expressed concern that the Cuban government would fail to administer those vaccines equitably.
Watch above.
