A group of activists rallied in front of the White House Tuesday demanding President Biden show stronger support for the freedom protests in Cuba.
An activist leader said Mr. Biden had given the anti-communist little more than a tweet or a statement.
“Mr. Biden, a bunch of us supported your cause, and now it’s your turn,” Emilio Fajardo, leader of the Cuban-American group MORE, said to the roughly 50 protesters who chanted “Freedom” and “Free Cuba.”
Mr. Fajardo later told The Washington Times: “We have the right to demand a little more firm action from the president.”
He called on the White House to establish a formal relationship with the leaders of the protests against the island nation’s communist regime.
“The first thing the administration should be doing is establishing a conversation [with the Cuban protesters],” he said. “That needs to be established because everybody knows that a revolution without a conscience is a perfect recipe for chaos.”
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The demonstrators stood on Pennsylvania Avene and trickled into Lafayette Square across from the White House. They hollered and chanted in a demonstration of solidarity with their counterparts in Cuba.
Mr. Fajardo said his group will continue to demonstrate until the Biden administration increases its overtures to the protesters in Cuba.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the protestors.
Mr. Biden said Monday the U.S. “stands firmly” with the people of Cuba after thousands of Cubans launched the biggest protest against their communist government in decades. Thousands of Cubans took to the streets amid the country’s ongoing economic crisis and a surge of coronavirus cases.
“The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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