Incoming National Security Advisor Weighs-In On Cuba: Signaling Not-So-Far From Continunity With Trump Administration?

Mr. Jake Sullivan (44 years of age) has been designated by President-elect Joseph Biden as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs with the tenure to commence on 20 January 2021.

On 29 November 2020, Mr. Sullivan used Twitter to share the following statement: “We support the Cuban people in their struggle for liberty,” Jake Sullivan, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s national security adviser wrote on Twitter.  The Cuban people must be allowed to exercise the universal right to freedom of expression.” 

LINK To Previous Post: [Some Of] What Incoming National Security Advisor Believes- Those Beliefs Will Impact Cuba And Venezuela Nov 28, 2020

United States Department of State
Washington DC
24 November 2020

The U.S. government strongly condemns the Cuban regime’s harassment of activists peacefully protesting the imprisonment of human rights defender Denis Solís González. We urge the Cuban government to dismiss this unjust sentence and release him without condition.

The regime has repeatedly targeted Mr. Solís González, a musician and member of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) , for exercising his freedom of expression by denouncing ongoing human rights abuses in Cuba. On November 9, regime officials arrested Mr. Solís, held him incommunicado for three days, and then abruptly sentenced him to eight months in prison on a dubious charge of “contempt.”

Following his detention, regime agents arrested dozens of journalists and human rights defenders seeking information about his case or advocating for his release. They have now blockaded MSI and others inside the group’s headquarters, where dissidents have been subjected to assaults as they call attention to the horrific situation in Cuba. While international journalists have been physically removed from the scene, the world is watching what is happening.

The United States stands in solidarity with the Cuban people, and we will continue to denounce these flagrant abuses against Cubans exercising their rights. We call on democratic partners around the world to raise their voices and make respect for human rights a prerequisite for any dealings with the Castro regime.