Marco Rubio Shows Support for Cubans on 4th Anniversary of July 11 Protests

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents were Cuban, sent a message to the people of Cuba ahead of the anniversary of the July 11, 2021, mass protests.

“July 11, 2021, is a day that marked a change for us, a turning point in what is happening inside Cuba,” Rubio said in a message that Cuban journalist Mario J. Pentón shared on X on July 9.

“I know that those videos of the Cuban people in the streets of the island demanding freedom and an end to an illegitimate dictatorship were a huge inspiration to those outside the island who love freedom and hope for freedom for Cuba in the future.”

Rubio said he recognizes that it is not easy to remain “inside that enslaved island, inside that oppressed island,” and to confront the Castro dictatorship currently led by Miguel Díaz-Canel.

“You who are there, who do not give up, inspire us every day, and it is a huge risk, we know,” he said.

The Cuban people, who since 1959 have lived under a one-party system led by the Communist Party of Cuba, continue to suffer repression, as well as shortages of food and basic services such as water and electricity.

“I know that for many it is much easier to leave the country than to stay there,” Rubio said.

“But I want them to know that from here they have our support, the support of our embassy, the support of a community in the U.S. that looks at them every day and knows that they are suffering from shortages of medicine, electricity, and so on.”

He added that it is well known that the situation for Cubans on the island “is the result of a regime that simply does not know how to govern, does not know how to run a country, and is only interested in staying in power.”

He also expressed hope that “Cuba will soon be free, sovereign, and independent,” and that the fate of the island will be in the hands of its people.

The Cuban community in exile remembers Sunday, July 11, 2021, when thousands of Cubans of all ages took to the streets of cities across the island country.

Armed with pots and pans in several cities, including Havana, Cubans protested against human rights abuses, lack of freedom, and the worsening economic situation, perpetuated for decades under communist rule.

The mass protests on that day were reminiscent of the Maleconazo of Aug. 5, 1994, when the regime formed a blockade around the Malecon to prevent anyone from leaving by boat. Cubans stormed the streets in protest, resulting in the imprisonment of at least 1,400 people and several deaths at the hands of the state.

On June 30, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to strengthen U.S. policy toward Cuba, reversing the Biden administration’s repeal of measures that eased pressure on the Cuban regime.

Trump ordered an end to economic practices that “disproportionately benefit” Cuba’s communist regime and its military, as well as strengthening the legal ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba and supporting the economic embargo against the island, according to a fact sheet released by the White House.