Photo: Anti-Cuban Government protest in Naples, FL.
Photo Credit: P,TO 19104 / CC
Published July 16, 2021
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn recently called on President Joe Biden to draw a line in the sand against the Communist Cuban regime and back the peaceful protestors who are facing a deadly assault.
Much of mainstream media is reporting on these protests in a way that makes it sound like everything is pandemic-related.
“What’s happening in Cuba is not an economic fluke, and every single person serving in this body, working in the media, and analyzing the policy implications know better than to say otherwise. This isn’t the pop socialism touted by the American left. It’s not fashionable. There is no empowerment or equality in the socialist regime. There is just starvation, shortages, violence, and failure for 62 years,” Senator Blackburn said.
Blackburn states that the ruling Communist party in Cuba have “bled the Cuban people dry and now armed thugs have taken to the streets to repress the opposition at any cost.”
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“Make no mistake. This is a test for President Biden. He must draw a line in the sand. I call on my colleagues in the majority, on President Biden, and the members of his cabinet to join me in supporting all who would risk their lives to expose the ravages of socialism in Cuba,” Blackburn said.
Blackburn states that the United States cannot ignore the Cuban protestor’s demands for freedom.
“We cannot stand by while communist thugs gun down their own people. We cannot let this become another Venezuela. Just as we stand with the freedom fighters suffering in Hong Kong, on mainland China, and in other socialist regimes around the world, we must stand with the people of Cuba,” Blackburn said.
After Cuba’s Communist government shut down internet service for the Cuban people, Blackburn, along with Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced a bipartisan bill that has enabled Cuban activists to access the internet to organize and to share real-time updates on social media.
“Socialism and communism leads to pain and suffering, and Cuba is the perfect example. The repressive Cuban government is attempting to squash protests by cutting off internet access for Cubans rebelling against communism.” said Blackburn.
Senators Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are original cosponsors of the bill.
The Open Technology Fund Authorization Act granted internet access to the Freedom-Seeking Cuban people through an internet censorship circumvention tool called Psiphon.
Funded by the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s Open Technology Fund, daily unique users of Psiphon in Cuba have spiked to over 146,000 since the demonstrations began.
Blackburn said, “The United States must do everything in its power to support those standing up to authoritarian regimes.”
The Open Technology Fund (OTF) plays a critical role in U.S. efforts to address the increasing levels of Internet censorship and surveillance.
As an independent non-profit organization, the OTF supports open technology and community projects that counteract repressive censorship and surveillance, enabling Internet users to exercise their fundamental human rights online.
About the Author:
Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative
Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
