A group of Angelenos of Cuban origin has organized to demand that the US blockade of Cuba come to an end and to defend Cuban sovereignty to decide its future.
With the slogan “Say no to ‘the destabilization campaign #SOSCuba’ and the calls for a US military invasion, a demonstration was held over the weekend in Los Angeles.
“I want to make it clear that I do not support the government of Cuba, but I do support the end of the US embargo that next year is going to be 60 years and has imposed a lot of suffering on the people, ”said Luis Herrera, born in New York, but of Cuban-Peruvian origin.
A few years ago he had the opportunity to go and meet his family in Cuba. “It was difficult because you see both sides of the coin, the sufferings of the people imposed by their own government, but also the consequences of the embargo.”
Herrera commented that he does not believe that many Americans know that there is a US embargo against Cuba since the time of the Cold War that impacts Cubans. “They need to know what the government does on their behalf in other countries, in this case in Cuba and the great damage caused to Cubans.”
He recalled that Trump imposed more restrictions: If a Cuban wants to apply for a visa to go to that country, they cannot obtain it at the US Embassy in Havana, they have to go to Georgetown, Guyana and there are no direct flights. “They have to connect to Russia, Turkey, Panama and in some cases Dubai.”
And those tickets cost between $ 6, 000 or $ 7, 07. “Of course, the Cubans don’t have that money. The average worker earns $ 20 a month. And they depend on their family and friends in the United States. ”
He affirmed that the situation that the Cuban people are experiencing cannot be attributed only to his government, but is largely caused by the US blockade.
“The embargo is a business. When I lived in Houston, my cousin in Cuba had a baby and I wanted to send him clothes. I could not send things by parcel, but I had to resort to an organization of Cubans. They in Houston sent it to a person in Miami who from there traveled to Cuba to take my package. It cost me $ 400 shipping cost. If the embargo was not there, I would easily have gone to UPS, the post office, Fedex or DHL to send my gift, and I would not have paid that much. ”
And he explained that when you go to different cities in Florida, there are many businesses that offer services to send money, clothes and whatever you want to Cuba . “People are making money from the embargo. For this reason, Cuban Americans in Florida will never acknowledge the damage caused and will always blame the Cuban government; and they are right, but the embargo does not help; and so to speak, they consider you a communist. ”
In the end, we have to accept what the Cubans decide, if they want to live in the socialism, we must respect their determination. “Of course, the Cubans in Miami will not agree. And his mayor has already requested the intervention of the United States to go and invade Cuba. ”
Herrera criticized that Senator Marco Rubio had never put a foot in Cuba nor the senator of Texas, Ted Cruz. “They should go and talk to the Cubans and know their wishes.”
Is there hope that the blockade will be lifted under Biden’s presidency?
“I voted for him because I didn’t like Trump . But when Biden became president, he said that Cuba was not a priority for his government. What are you talking about? To end the embargo, congressional action is needed, but he can issue an executive order to make it easier for Cubans to obtain a visa in Havana and return to Obama’s policies. ”
Disillusioned with Biden’s stance towards Cuba, Herrera revealed that he has thought about unsubscribing as a Democrat and registering as an independent. “It is a disgrace that the United States is imposing drastic measures on a poor country. People are not treated like that. ”
Antonio Mendoza, of Cuban parents, residing in Los Angeles is in favor of lifting the embargo against Cuba. “People could have more access to food, syringes, medicine. You could do business and trade. That would change the situation, and we had already started to see it with Obama. ”
Duane Fernández said that many lies have been told about the situation in Cuba on social networks and cited some:
– On Facebook they used the return of Cuban doctors in a plane of the Mexican air force to try to create the idea that troops were coming.
– On Twitter, they have published images of the evictions from the polling stations in Catalonia as if they had occurred in Cuba recently.
– On Facebook, various users of social networks are becoming veritable fake news machines against Cuba. A photo of protests in Cuba has been released when in reality they were riots in London before the final of the European Championship 2020.
– On Twitter they use a photo that is not from the protests of the 11 of July in Cuba, but of the Madrid demonstrations in 2012 supporting coal mining.
Fernández acknowledged that the protests would not have occurred without a shortage of food and medicine. “It is true that there has been neglect in Cuba, but it is also true that Biden has already spent $ 150 millions to destabilize the Island. They have an army of people who earn their daily bread, spending the entire day in the networks, shouting against injustices and they never talk about the economic blockade. ”
And it is okay if the United States does not want to trade with Cuba, but why apply sanctions to other nations , commercial companies, banks, officials and individuals for making deals with the Cuban government.
On 25 July more than 50, 000 sign Biden demanding the end of the blockade and economic sanctions.