Quote:In the wake of widespread anti-communism protests in Cuba, government officials are detaining and prosecuting citizens without due process.

Across the island, relatives are lining up at police stations to find missing relatives. Some are attempting to deliver clothing, food, and other amenities.

The Wall Street Journal reported:

Cuban police have arrested an estimated 500 demonstrators and activists who were among thousands who poured into the streets on July 11 to protest against deteriorating living conditions, the lack of freedoms, and scarcity of basic goods and services including Covid-19 vaccines under the Communist regime.

Most of those detained during and after the demonstrations are young people from the poorest corners of the country who have been held incommunicado, relatives say. Authorities have yet to disclose the charges on which they are being held.

Authorities have said demonstrators will face summary trials behind closed doors, which gives defendants and their attorneys little time to study charges or present evidence. Prisoner Defenders, a Madrid-based legal action advocacy group, said the Cuban procedure “flagrantly violates the guarantee of due process.”

“Some demonstrators have been released, but those who are seen as influential or more visible aren’t going anywhere,” remarked Danelis Iglesias, the wife of rapper Adrian “El Radikal” Zamora. Iglesias said that her husband — who produces music critical of the regime — was arrested moments after stepping out of the shower and carried away in shorts and flip flops.

As The Daily Wire reported, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) explained in a Tuesday speech that the release of political prisoners — along with the establishment of a free press and the advent of multiparty elections — will automatically end the embargo on Cuba, which is targeted at the regime rather than the Cuban people.

“They don’t want individual Cubans to have a paycheck that they earn for themselves,” Rubio said of the Cuban government. “They want what little you have to come from them — because if you don’t do what they tell you, they can take it from you. That’s what they want… They don’t want the people of Cuba to have liberty. This is all about control.”

“Anyone who stands up and says, ‘There’s an embargo, there’s a blockade by the United States, and it’s cruel, and it’s causing all of these problems’ is one of two things: They don’t know what they’re talking about and they’re just parroting some talking point, or they’re liars.”

Quote:Alongside other leaders from Washington, D.C., Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser led an “exploratory mission” to Cuba in 2016 — during which she lauded the island’s “strong” education system and “quality” healthcare.

The mission served “as a platform for the regional delegation to learn best practices” from communist officials.

According to a February 2016 press release:

Today Mayor Muriel Bowser toured the University of Havana, the oldest university in Cuba, to learn how the country’s literacy, graduation rates, and university and college retention rates remain consistently high.

Mayor Bowser was joined on the university visit by DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, representatives from American and Howard University’s Business Schools, and other members of the exploratory mission delegation.

Other topics of discussion included commitments to share educational attainment and retention information and results. An invitation was also extended to Cuban officials to visit DC Public Schools in the near future.

“Washington, DC has seen great gains in our education system,” Bowser said in the press release. “Given Cuba’s emphasis on a strong education, I know there’s a lot we can learn from each other. The District will continue to draw on best practices from around the globe as we close the achievement gap and prepare the next generation for the jobs of tomorrow.”

Another statement issued on the same day offered a high view of Cuba’s healthcare system:

Mayor Muriel Bowser met with Cuban healthcare leaders, including Dr. Mariela Castro, Director of research institution CENESEX and daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro. Cuba has consistently maintained high health standards, despite a scarcity of resources.

Dr. Castro led Mayor Bowser on a tour of CENESEX, a teaching and research institution in the area of ​​human sexuality, best known for advocating for tolerance of LGBTQ residents, and a leader in education concerning contraception and AIDS.

“A city is only as strong as the health and well-being of its residents,” remarked Bowser. “No matter your background or economic status, everyone has the right to quality health care — and it’s encouraging to see that Cuba has made that a top priority. The District will continue to identify opportunities — at home and abroad — that lead to expanded medical research, more affordable preventative care, and proven programs that protect the health of future generations.”

Earlier this week, activists in Washington painted “Cuba Libre” — “Free Cuba” — in front of the Cuban embassy located on 16th Street. Bowser ordered officials to remove the mural one day after it appeared — even though she ordered the painting of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” on another portion of 16th Street in June of last year.

Quote:Cubans have a right to be free, and the American people should support them.

On Sunday, July 11 of this year, we saw something in Cuba that we have never seen — protests in over fifty-two cities.

It is important to remember that this all started as a Facebook Live broadcast from one city that then spread throughout the country. It was organic. It was leaderless. It was not part of an organized effort.

It was just people who are tired and couldn’t take it anymore.

But this had been brewing for some time in Cuba. It began with the opening of the internet and with Cubans having access to information — websites and social media from all over the world — and the ability to communicate with one another.

Communist, socialist, Marxist dictators always use the same tactic: they keep people divided. They keep people from speaking to one another; they keep people separated from one another and unable to compare notes. What you are hearing now is people who are tired of living in a country where you cannot have your own opinion, where you cannot express yourself, where the government wants to control everything — everything you do and everything you say. They control where you live, control where you work, control how you can travel, control what kind of work you can do — and they hold it all over your head. Cubans are tired of it.

These protests were not about COVID. These protests were not about food shortages — Cuba has been dealing with food shortages forever, and COVID is spreading throughout the world.

These protests were about what the protesters said they were about — libertad, which means liberty.

The Cuban people want to live like Cubans live in Miami, and Tampa, and Orlando, and all over the United States and the world. They want to live free. They want to be able to pick their own leaders. They want to be able to work with their own hands and provide for their family.

And they want to live in a country where thinking differently than the people who are in charge is not a crime — particularly when the people who are in charge are people who you cannot replace and have no role in putting there whatsoever.

Justice, liberty, and freedom are the most noble causes any of us could be a part of, and we are inspired by what the people in Cuba are doing. We should continue to amplify their voice and support them in their cause.

They have a right to be free, and we should support them.