Marking the two year anniversary of thousands of Cubans protesting against the government, citing restrictions on rights and the pandemic response, Secretary Antony Blinken took to social media to call for political prisoners' release.
In a historic display of dissent, thousands of Cubans took to the streets across the nation July 11, 2021, in the largest demonstrations against the government since the 1959 Cuban revolution, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
"Two years after the historic July 11 protests in Cuba, more than 700 individuals remain in jail for exercising their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly," Blinken said in a Twitter post. "We share the Cuban people's dream of democracy and call for the immediate release of all political prisoners."
Human Rights Watch reported Cuban courts have upheld the convictions of more than 380 protesters and bystanders, including several children. This development underscores the ongoing crackdown on dissent and freedom of expression.
Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, chairman of the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee, and Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, held a bipartisan roundtable discussion with Cuban pro-democracy activists July 7. The aim of the discussion was to address the ongoing acts of repression perpetrated by the brutal regime in Cuba, according to a release from Diaz-Balart's office.
Amnesty International expressed concern over the Cuban government's refusal to allow international and independent human rights organizations to document the state of human rights in the country, particularly the situation faced by arbitrarily detained individuals. Despite spirited efforts by governments and international organizations, the lack of access hinders the assessment and resolution of human rights abuses in Cuba.
Although economic sanctions are in place, the U.S. remains the largest provider of food and agricultural products to Cuba, according to a November 2019 State Department release. The U.S. is also a significant supplier of humanitarian goods to Cuba, including medicines and medical products, with the total value of all exports to Cuba of $275.9 million in 2018.
Provisions from the U.S., estimated at $3.5 billion in 2017, played an important role in Cuba's state-controlled economy, the State Department release reported.
