Cuba unsettled as US considers relief

Cuba’s oppressed and long-suffering citizens are so angry with their situation that impromptu acts of defiance are being staged after the historic mass protest last Sunday. The island has suffered under the covid pandemic and crippling US sanctions.

Yet United States President Joe Biden downplayed the prospect of re-establishing US to Cuba remittances – the process allowing Americans to wire money to Cuban relatives. He said funds would “likely” be confiscated by the government.

“Cuba is unfortunately a failed state and repressing their citizens,” Biden said. “There are a number of things that we would consider doing to help the people of Cuba, but it would require a different circumstance or a guarantee that they would not be taken advantage of by the government.”

Biden is looking into restoring Cuba’s internet access, saying that the US is considering whether it has “the technological ability” to do so. Cuban authorities shut down internet connections last week as thousands took to the streets against issues including food and medicine shortages and power cuts. Protesters have also rallied against the government’s response to the pandemic and state repression.

Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel said US sanctions were solely to blame for the nation’s economic conditions. He has described the embargo as a “cruel” and “genocidal” policy that limits what Cuba can achieve.