'Cubans are ready to rule themselves without tyranny as thousands take to the streets of Communist-run nation chanting 'down with the dictatorship'
- Miami Mayor Francis Suarez called on Biden administration to send troops to Cuba amid unrest on the island
- 'Cubans are worthy and ready to rule themselves without tyranny,' Suarez said on Sunday
- Thousands took to streets Sunday to denounce Communist government for its handling of economy, COVID
- President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who heads the Communist Party, blamed US for the unrest in televised speech
- The protests broke out in San Antonio de los Banos municipality in Artemisa Province, bordering Havana
- Hundreds of residents chanted anti-government slogans and demanded vaccines, end to daily blackouts
A man is arrested during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana on Sunday
'It can end today and it must end today. The implications of this moment can mean freedom for millions of people in the hemisphere, from Nicaraguans and Venezuelans and so many more.'
House Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican who represents the Miami area, said this was the 'beginning of the end' of the Communist regime and that a 'perfect storm' presented an opportunity for the government to be toppled.
House Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, tweeted: 'It's time for the Cuban regime to step down and let Democracy flourish in Cuba.'
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a Republican, tweeted: 'I am asking [President Joe Biden] and [Secretary of State Antony Blinken] to call on members of the Cuban military to not fire on their own people.
'The incompetent communist party of #Cuba cannot feed or protect the people from the virus.
'Now those in the military must defend the people not the communist party.'
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, also a Republican, tweeted: 'Florida supports the people of Cuba as they take to the streets against the tyrannical regime in Havana.
'The Cuban dictatorship has repressed the people of Cuba for decades & is now trying to silence those who have the courage to speak out against its disastrous policies.'
Another prominent Republican, Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, tweeted: 'The human heart wants to be free. This is as true in Cuba as it is in America
Security forces loyal to the government detain a protester in Havana, Cuba on Sunday
'I stand with my friend Senator Rubio and all Cubans looking to throw off the yoke of Communism and join the free world.'
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted: 'After decades of suffering through a communist dictatorship, the Cuban people deserve liberty.
'I am proud to stand in solidarity with the people of Cuba who are calling out for freedom.'
House Rep. Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, tweeted: 'America stands with the people of Cuba as they fight for their freedom from a tyrannical government.
'Socialism has failed everywhere it’s been tried. We can’t let America become another failed socialist experiment.'
Scalise ended the tweet with the hashtags #SOSCuba and #FreedomOverSocialism.'
President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who also heads the Communist Party, blamed the United States for the unrest in a nationally televised speech on Sunday afternoon.
Special forces jeeps, with machine guns mounted on the back, were seen in Havana and Diaz-Canel called on supporters to confront 'provocations
Thousands of people gathered in downtown Havana and along parts of the seaside drive amid a heavy police presence. There were a few arrests and scuffles, but no major confrontations.
The protests broke out in San Antonio de los Banos municipality in Artemisa Province, bordering Havana, with video on social media showing hundreds of residents chanting anti-government slogans and demanding everything from coronavirus vaccines to an end of daily blackouts.
'I just walked through town looking to buy some food and there were lots of people there, some with signs, protesting,' local resident Claris Ramirez said by phone.
'They are protesting blackouts, that there is no medicine,' she added.
Singer Yotuel Romero addresses protesters gathered in front of the Versailles restaurant in Miami as they show support for the people in Cuba who have taken to the streets there to protest
Diaz-Canel, who had just returned from San Antonio de los Banos, said many protesters were sincere but manipulated by US-orchestrated social media campaigns and 'mercenaries' on the ground, and warned that further 'provocations' would not be tolerated.
There were protests later on Sunday hundreds of miles to the east in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba, where social media video showed hundreds marching through the streets, again confirmed by a local resident.
'They are protesting the crisis, that there is no food or medicine, that you have to buy everything at the foreign currency stores, and on and on the list goes,' Claudia Perez said.
'We are calling on all the revolutionaries in the country, all the Communists, to hit the streets wherever there is an effort to produce these provocations,' Diaz-Canel said in his broadcast remarks.
A man is arrested during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana on Sunday
The Communist-run country has been experiencing a worsening economic crisis for two years, which the government blames mainly on US sanctions and the pandemic, while its detractors cite incompetence and a Soviet-style one-party system.
The demonstration in Havana grew to a few thousand in the vicinity of Galeano Avenue and the marchers pressed on despite a few charges by police officers and tear gas barrages.
People
standing on many balconies along the central artery in the Centro
Habana neighborhood applauded the protesters passing by. Others joined
in the march.
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