Black Lives Matter Official Statement on Cuba Unrest Praises Regime and Blames US

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.

In response to the protests in Cuba, Black Lives Matter has come out in support of the regime while blaming the United States for its decades-old embargo on the Communist country.

In a statement posted on its official Instagram account on Wednesday, BLM said it “condemns the U.S. federal government’s inhumane treatment of Cubans, and urges it to immediately life the economic embargo. This cruel and inhumane policy, instituted with the explicit intention of destabilizing the country and undermining Cubans’ right to choose their own government, is at the heart of Cuba’s current crisis.”

BLM then blamed the United States for depriving the Cuban people of an approximate $130 billion in food, medicine and supplies, therefore, making it “harder for Cuba to acquire medical equipment needed to develop its own COVID-19 vaccines and equipment for food production.” The statement praised Cuba’s “strong medical care and history of lending doctors and nurses to disasters around the world.” Contrary to the statement, the healthcare system in Cuba is poor for its citizens while good for foreigners.

BLM lamented that inside what is an oppressive regime, the “people of Cuba are being punished by the U.S. government because the country has maintained its commitment to sovereignty and self-determination. United States leaders have tried to crush this Revolution for decades. Instead of international amity, respect, and goodwill, the U.S. government has only instigated suffering for the country’s 11 million people – of which 4 million are Black and Brown.”

The statement went on to praise Cuba for having “historically demonstrated solidarity with oppressed peoples of African descent, from protecting Black revolutionaries like Assata Shakur through granting her asylum, to supporting Black liberation struggles in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and South Africa.” Shakur is wanted by the United States after fleeing from prison to the small island country in 1979 after being convicted two years earlier in the 1973 murder of a New Jersey state trooper.

In conclusion, BLM called on President Joe Biden “to end the embargo, something Barack Obama called for in 2016. This embargo is a blatant human rights violation and it must come to an end.”