Senior Director For WHA At NSC In The White House Discusses Cuba. Doing "a series of other things."
/The White House
Washington DC
9 August 2021
On-the-Record Press Call by National Security Council Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere Juan Gonzalez on Official Travel to Brazil and Argentina Via Teleconference
Excerpts
On Cuba, since the July 11th protests, we have been working to hold the regime accountable while, at the same time, doing everything we can to support the Cuban people. And in that regard, we've been doing a regular pace of sanctions of individuals involved in the crackdown against the July 11th protestors, and then doing everything to support the families of those who have been detained by increasing funding, working to expand Internet connectivity on the island, and a series of other things. So that continues.
Q Mr. Juan Gonzalez -- I would like to ask him if there was any request from the United States to the Argentinian government, to the government of Alberto Fernández, for Argentina support most the democratization of Cuba, Venezuela, or Nicaragua in terms of, for example, any declaration against the repression of the Cuban people by the government, in the case of Cuba, and if there was any request in that sense for Argentina to participate in the dialogue that the opposition and the Maduro’s regime will start in Mexico this week.
MR. GONZALEZ: Great. So, look, on the question of democracy and human rights in the region, Jake Sullivan mentioned, just as he did in Brazil, in Argentina, in the conversations with President Fernández, with Foreign Minister Solá, with Gustavo Beliz, and others that -- you know, that we have a -- we really have to break through the left-and-right mindset when it comes to promoting democratic values and that we need to really focus on a conversation with regard to democracies and countries that are not democracies if we are to ensure that, as a region, we maintain this international consensus in favor of democracy.
So, you know, I think we underscored the importance of breaking through this ideological problem that exists in the region, both in the left and the right, when it comes to democratic values and that, you know, we did raise the issue of Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela as one where we’re urging all countries, not just Argentina, to stand up for those ideals, given in particular the history that Argentina has suffered in the past.
And so, it's somewhere where there was a -- I think a very constructive conversation with the Argentines’ willingness to find areas of common ground and an interest in them being -- in being helpful. I mean, I think they made clear that they're not always going to agree with us on how -- on matters of approach, but that we're going to continue to have a very open and fluid dialogue when it comes to these matters.
And, you know, we believe that Argentina is a country that can speak to governments of both the left and the right, and can play an important role in encouraging the defense of democratic values. Particularly, I think, when you see in Nicaragua, which has been, you know, a move -- a very kind of concerning move toward authoritarianism in the run-up to the November elections.
And I think you'd also asked about the dialogue, sorry, on Venezuela. What I would say is -- is that we’re not -- we don't -- we're not the ones that get to pick who is seated at the table in the dialogue. I think that's a question, really, for the Unity Platform, led by the -- those Venezuelans that are in favor of democracy and the regime that is on the other side of that equation.
And, you know, I think our perspective -- which has been one that is articulated between the United States, Canada, and the European Union -- is that the international community is going to continue to push for free and fair elections, and we're going to use everything we can to press the regime to take concrete steps in that direction.
