Are Cubans Protesting For Change Because Of Covid?

Republicans reacted negatively to a tweet from Julie Chung, the acting assistant secretary of the department's Buruea of Western Hemisphere Affairs, who linked the protests in Cuban to the rise in COVID-19 cases in the country

Sen. Marco Rubio hammered Julie Chung's tweet calling it 'ridiculous' and saying the Cuban people were actually protesting '62 years of socialism, lies, tyranny & misery'  

Daily Mail: Republicans tear into 'ridiculous' State Department tweet tying COVID to the Cuba protests and accuse the Biden administration of 'playing cover for communists' 

* Republicans mocked a tweet from a State Department official who tied Sunday's Cuban protests with the country's rise in COVID-19 cases 

* State Department official Julie Chung tweeted that people in Cuba were exercising their right to protest 'to express concern about rising COVID cases' 

* 'This is a ridiculous tweet from @StateDept,' Sen. Marco Rubio said, adding that Cubans are 'protesting 62 years of socialism, lies, tyranny & misery' 

* Rep. Dan Crenshaw tweeted 'Stop playing cover for communists and support the Cuban people' in reaction to the tweet 

Republicans mocked a tweet from a State Department official who tied Sunday's Cuban protests with the country's rise in COVID-19 cases. 

Julie Chung, the acting assistant secretary of the department's Buruea of Western Hemisphere Affairs tweeted Sunday, '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 shortage.' 

'We commend the numerous efforts of the Cuban people mobilizing donations to help neighbors,' she added. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: Been to Cuba many times. My parents loved going there for their winter vacations. Contrary to the perception that Cuba has a top notch medical system .... I can say that it does not. I posted a number of photos a few years back from a friend who works as a nurse and who developed appendicitis when she was there on vacation. Was sent to a local hospital, and after one look went straight to the airport to take the first flight back home. The ER was dirty and ill-equipped for even the basic medical emergency, let alone having an appendix removed. 

So that is why I am not surprised at all that Cuba has not been successful in containing Covid, nor vaccinating their population. And while supporters of the Cuban regime blame US sanctions for Cuba's problems in their health system, I know that health and medical supplies are exempted from sanctions. The problem, like all problems in Cuba, are due to the government and the socialist ideology that it still believes in. 

As for why are the Cubans protesting? 

As I listed yesterday. High inflation. Shortage of basic goods. No work, and what work is available does not pay well. Basic services like electricity and the internet always breaking down. And on top of all that. A surveillance state backed by a brutal security apparatus that tolerates no opposition. 

The White House. To their credit and contrary to the State Department. Understand why the Cubans are protesting .... 'The Cuban people are demanding their freedom from an authoritarian regime': Biden says the US 'stands firmly' with the 'remarkable' protesters and warns communist leaders not to use violence to 'silence' demonstrators (Daily Mail).