United States Department Of State Spokesperson References Cuba
/The United States Department of State
Washington DC
11 August 2021
Briefing- Ned Price
Today marks one month since the Cuban people took to the streets, making a call for freedom heard around the world. The Cuban Government responded with a brutal wave of repression unseen in decades. As of today, over 800 Cubans have been reported detained for peacefully demonstrating on July 11th. By some accounts, there may be hundreds more. Many are held incommunicado, without access to family or legal representation; secret, summary judicial proceedings lack fair trial guarantees and seek to repress, to silence, and make examples of anyone who added their voice to peaceful protests on July 11th.
The Government of Cuba denies this systematic abuse of human rights and refuses access to international observers. Cuba’s leaders are counting on the world to turn a blind eye to their repression. The world must not look away. The United States will not look away. We join the families who are suffering and scared, Cuba’s human rights defenders, and those who share our concern around the world in calling for the immediate release of all those detained or missing for merely exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Addressing the ongoing crisis in Cuba is a top priority. At President Biden’s direction, the U.S. Government is actively focused on providing support to the Cuban people, whether it is facilitating humanitarian assistance or information access. We’ve brought to bear the strength of international diplomacy, rallying nations around the world to speak out in support of the Cuban people and in condemnation of the regime’s violent response to the protests. And we are holding the repressors accountable for human rights abuses through the Global Magnitsky sanctions program.
