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Black Lives Matter Blames US, Praises Cuban Communist Regime

By • July 15, 2021 3:27 pm

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was recently met with fierce backlash after posting a statement blasting the United States while appearing to support the Cuban government amid the current unrest and crackdowns in the island.

The statement – which spread from the organization’s Instagram – blamed the US government’s embargo for the massive protests in Havana triggered by the country’s instability while publicly praising the communist regime of Cuba for granting “Black revolutionaries” asylum.

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“Black Lives Matter condemns the US federal government’s inhumane treatment of Cubans, and urges it to immediately lift the economic embargo,” the progressive group posted, in what it says as its response on “what we’re seeing in Cuba” which it added are the “consequences of years of US embargoes.”

“This cruel and inhumane policy, instituted with the explicit intention of destabilizing the country and undermining Cuban’s right to choose their own government, is at the heart of Cuba’s current crisis,” it added.

The BLM statement on Cuba echoed the earlier statements made by Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel  that the US’ embargo is to blame for the country’s economic turmoil. 

Cuba is currently experiencing its greatest economic downturn in decades as it also faces a resurgence of coronavirus infections.

Senator Marco Rubio (Florida), was quick to rebuke the BLM statement – blasting the organization for supporting the communist government of Cuba.

“The extortionist ring known as the Black Lives Matter organization took a break today from shaking down corporations for millions & buying themselves mansions to share their support for the Communist regime in #Cuba,” Rubio, who is of Cuban descent tweeted.

The BLM statement was released about the same time that Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel acknowledged in a televised address that his government’s failings contributed to protests over food shortages and other concerns. He has previously called for “revolutionaries” to combat anti-government demonstrators.

BLM blasts US government; praises Cuba

BLM said Cuba is being “punished by the US government because the country has maintained its commitment to sovereignty and self-determination,” the statement read. 

It added that Cuba has been an ally with “oppressed peoples of African descent” and praised the country’s effort to protect “Black revolutionaries like Assata Shakur” – who was earlier convicted in the US for being an accomplice in the 1973 slaying of Werner Foerster, a New Jersey State Trooper.

Shakur, also known as JoAnne Chesimar, later escaped prison and fled to Cuba, where former dictator Fidel Castro granted her asylum.

The group noted that Cuba has also been supporting “Black liberation struggles in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and South Africa.”

“Now we look to President Biden to end the embargo, something Barack Obama called for in 2016,” the BLM statement added. “This embargo is a blatant human rights violation and it must come to an end.”

Senator Ted Cruz (Texas), the son of a Cuban immigrant, has expressed his support for the thousands of Cuban who took to the streets to protest against the regime – and blasted the US for turning a blind eye on the real cause of the protests.

He also slammed BLM for standing with the communist dictatorship in Cuba.

“Shameful. The group Black Lives Matter (funded by major players in corporate America) was founded by avowed Marxists and — as millions of Cubans risk their lives to rise up for freedom — BLM stands with…the communist dictatorship,” he said.

“The people protesting in the streets in Cuba are not protesting mismanagement. They’re not chanting ‘manage better.’ They’re chanting ‘libertad.’ They’re chanting ‘freedom,’” Cruz added. “But Biden & Harris are unwilling to speak plainly and say the communist dictatorship in Cuba is evil.”

Meanwhile, the progressive members of the Democrat Party appear rather quiet on the Cuba issue including the historic protests, violent crackdowns and recently, internet blackouts in the island.

As the true state of crackdown in Cuba remains unclear due to wide reports of internet shutdown, The New York Times, citing Amnesty International, said on Tuesday that at least 150 Cubans were detained related to the protests as some protesters remain unaccounted for.

Social media erupts against BLM statement

Mercedes Schlapp of CPAC slammed BLM’s support for Cuba’s comsaid: “BLM says NOTHING about how the Cuban communist and authoritarian regime has stripped the freedoms of the Cuban people and killed innocent lives. Their  statement is a betrayal of the Cuban people who are fighting for freedom. BLM supports the communist regime and is a Marxist org.”

Giancarlo Sopo, a communication strategist who once worked on the re-election campaign of former President Donald Trump, called BLM’s tweet “disgusting.”

“Despite the Cuban dictatorship’s murdering and beating of protestors (many of them Black), BLM’s statement on Cuba…condemns the U.S., praises the Castro regime, and makes no mention of the atrocities being committed by the dictatorship,” he added.

International lawyer and human rights activist Hillel Neuer commented: “In Cuba, a repressive regime is firing on peaceful protesters. In America, the organization Black Lives Matter @Blklivesmatter just sided with the oppressor. http://instagram.com/p/CRU5kYYp-UU.”

Joe Walsh, the former Illinois Republican, said the BLM statement is “way worse than embarrassing.”

Reuters reported that Latin American communities across the country are also staging protests in support of demonstrators in Cuba.

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Steeve Strange

Steeve is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Scoop.
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