Democratic Socialists Silent as Cubans Rise up against Communism & Demand Freedom
AOC, Ilhan Omar, other Marxist 'Squad' members, Bernie Sanders go eerily quiet
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As the people of Cuba take to the streets in protest to demand an end to their communist dictatorship and freedom from communism, America's Democratic socialists have been eerily silent.
U.S. lawmakers have been speaking out on social media in solidarity with the demonstrations and Cuban citizens' plight for liberty.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and the so-called "Squad" of Marxist House Democrats are typically vocal when it comes to communist policies.
However, the self-described Democratic socialists have yet to respond as Cubans call for an end to their own communist dictatorship.
Sanders has previously defended some of the policies of Cuba's previous communist dictator Fidel Castro.
During the 2020 Democratic primaries, Sanders was asked by Anderson Cooper during an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" why the Cuban people didn't rise up and help the U.S. overthrow the Castro regime.
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Sanders replied that the dictator "educated their kids, gave their kids health care, totally transformed the society."
"We're very very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba but you know, it's unfair to simply say everything is bad," Sanders explained.
"You know? When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did?
"He had a massive literacy program.
"Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?"
Cooper proceeded to push back against Sanders, noting many political dissidents were imprisoned in Cuba.
"That's right. And we condemn that," Sanders said.
"Unlike Donald Trump, let's be clear, you want to-- I do not think that Kim Jong Un is a good friend.
"I don't trade love letters with a murdering dictator.
"Vladimir Putin, not a great friend of mine."
WATCH:
Bernie Sanders defends his 1980s comments about Fidel Castro in an interview on 60 Minutes. https://t.co/ySqvQKoiBU pic.twitter.com/lTwuXWp9sA
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) February 24, 2020
The defense during the 2020 election season came after Sanders praised the communist dictator in a resurfaced speech given at the University of Vermont in 1986.
"I remember, for some reason or another, being very excited when Fidel Castro made the revolution in Cuba," he said at the time.
"I was a kid ... and it just seemed right and appropriate that poor people were rising up against rather ugly rich people."
Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Sanders for president in 2020 when he ran as a Democrat for the second time and subsequently lost again.
While on the campaign trail, AOC displayed a cultish-like obsession for Sanders, saying she didn’t “recognize [her] inherent value as a human being” until she had “heard of” Sanders.
In 2016, Tom Perez, then-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, praised AOC as the “future” of the Democrat Party.
The Washington Post reported:
José Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch’s Americas division, said his group had received reports that at least 20 people had been arrested.
He added that the organization had received reports of violence being used by Cuban forces, a claim echoed by social media users sharing videos of wounded protesters.
“This is pretty massive,” Vivanco said.
“My sense is that this is a combination of social unrest based on a lack of freedoms, and covid, and economic conditions.
"The lack of access to electricity.
"The blackouts. … People are screaming for freedom.”
"As demonstrators sought to broadcast the protest live with their cellphones through social media, Cuba’s authorities cut internet service on multiple occasions on Sunday,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
"Kentik, a U.S.-based network monitoring company, reported countrywide internet outages.”
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Videos have been circulating on social media of Cubans marching in the streets, protesting the impoverished conditions of the island and their lack of freedom under the far-left communist regime.
They did so while chanting “Liberty” and “Freedom” and waving American flags.
The communist dictatorship later started cracking down on the protests, allegedly inflicting violence on the unarmed protesters and cutting off internet access.
