Several days since the outbreak of unprecedented mass protests against Cuba’s brutal regime, President Joe Biden’s White House has finally admitted the obvious: Communism is to blame for Cuba’s deteriorating condition.
This is the first time Biden’s White House has explicitly mentioned the communist ideology behind Cuba’s government. This is not to say that Biden secretly supports communism or hopes to make America a communist country, but it does reveal something about the way Biden’s administration has approached its messaging on this subject, perhaps with an underlying timidity about enraging the Democrats’ left-wing base.AdRECOMMENDEDDeals for Eye GlassesMicrosoft AdsDeals for Prescription GlassesMicrosoft AdsDeals for EyeglassesMicrosoft AdsTear Drop Style Eye Glass FramesMicrosoft AdsDeals for EyewearMicrosoft AdsEye Glass FramesMicrosoft Ads
When the protests first broke out, White House press secretary Jen Psaki avoided using the terms “socialism” or “communism” at all. She said it was “pretty clear” Cubans were demonstrating because of the government’s “oppression” and “mismanagement,” but failed to identify the cause of that oppression and mismanagement: Cuba’s Communist Party.
Other Biden administration officials flat out denied that Cuba’s brutal communist rule had anything to do with the protests. Acting Assistant Secretary of State Julie Chung, for example, claimed the demonstrations were about the coronavirus pandemic.
“Peaceful protests are growing in #Cuba as the Cuban people exercise their right to peaceful assembly to express concern about rising COVID cases/deaths & medicine shortages,” Chung wrote on Twitter. “We commend the numerous efforts of the Cuban people mobilizing donations to help neighbors in need.”
By the time Biden released his first statement, the administration was beginning to narrow in on the true problem in Cuba, but it still fell short.
“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,” Biden said in a statement.
Now, nearly a week later, the White House has finally said what is plainly true: Communism is a “failed ideology” that has “failed the people of Cuba;” Cuba’s “authoritarian, communist regime” has “repressed its people;” and the Communist Party of Cuba’s failure resulted in “a lack of access to economic opportunity, to medical supplies, to COVID vaccines,” and more.
“We certainly believe that [communism] has failed the people of Cuba,” Psaki said on Thursday. “They deserve freedom. They deserve a government that supports them — whether that is making sure they have health and medical supplies, access to vaccines, or whether they have economic opportunity and prosperity.”
Why did it take Biden’s White House so long to denounce Cuba’s communist regime? Maybe he didn’t think it needed to be said. Or, maybe he was worried that identifying the specific ideology behind Cuba’s brutal government would also condemn the more radical policies, supported by members of his own party, that resemble some of the programs implemented in Cuba.
Either way, Biden needs to leave his hesitancy behind and face the facts. The Cuban people need help, and the only long-term solution that will give them the freedoms they deserve is the destruction of the parasitical communist government that has held their country hostage for decades. The sooner we’re all able to admit that, the sooner we can help them accomplish it.
Tags: Beltway Confidential, Opinion, Joe Biden, White House, Democrat, Cuba, Communism