US president Joe Biden voiced his support for protesters in Cuba, as the socialist country witnessed the largest demonstration against the government in decades.
Thousands of people took to the streets on Sunday to protest at the lack of medical and food supplies – an unusual display of public discontent in a country that typically quashes dissent.
In a statement, Mr Biden lauded the Cuban people for “bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights”.
“We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime,” the president said.
Later he called on the Cuban regime to “refrain from violence in their attempt to silence the voices of the people of Cuba”.
In a television address on Monday, Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermudez – who replaced Raúl Castro as the country’s leader in 2018 – accused Washington of stoking discontent, while also blaming the US trade embargo for causing supply shortages.
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki hit back at suggestions that the US was to blame in any way for the events in Cuba.
“There’s every indication that yesterday’s protests were spontaneous expressions of people who are exhausted with the Cuban government’s economic mismanagement and repression,” she said. “These are protests inspired by the harsh reality of everyday life in Cuba, not people in another country.”
Covax opt-out
She also defended Mr Biden’s Cuban policy, noting that the current economic sanctions on the country included exemptions for medical and humanitarian aid.
The United States was "closely engaged" with the situation in Cuba, she said, and was "looking to provide support to the people of Cuba".
Asked if the US was prepared to send Covid-19 vaccines to the country amid a slow rollout of its vaccination programme, Ms Psaki noted that Cuba had not signed up to Covax, the global initiative that allows more developed countries to share vaccines with other countries.
Cuban-American members of Congress from across the political spectrum spoke out in support of the protesters, while members of the Cuban community in Florida took to the streets in solidarity with the protesters.
Mr Biden has faced criticism for not moving to reverse predecessor Donald Trump’s stance towards Cuba by easing trade sanctions on the country. Mexico’s president was among those who called on the US to lift its embargo on the island nation.
In New York a spokesman for the United Nations said that the body was following developments in Cuba, but that “freedom of expression and peaceful assembly” needed to be fully respected.
Haiti turmoil
The eruption of political unrest in Cuba comes as the Biden administration is grappling with political turmoil in Haiti following the assassination of the country’s president last week.
President Jovenal Moïse was shot dead in his home in an audacious attack, which has plunged the Caribbean country into uncertainty.
More than two-dozen people have been arrested in connection with the assassination, including Colombian and US nationals. Police have said they believe that Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian doctor living in Florida, was the mastermind of the attack.
Haiti's interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, has called for the United States to send troops to help stabilise the country, but the Biden administration has resisted.
Mr Biden sent a delegation to the country on Sunday, which reported back to the president on Monday.
Speaking in the White House on Monday, he said: “The people of Haiti deserve peace and security, and Haiti’s political leaders need to come together for the good of their country ... The United States stands ready to continue to provide assistance, and I’ll have more for you as we move on.”
