U.S. Department Of State Spokesperson Responds To Comments About Biden-Harris Administration Cuba Policy From Obama-Biden Administration Deputy National Security Advisor
/United States Department of State
Washington DC
14 September 2022
Press Briefing With Ned Price, Spokesperson
QUESTION: Very quick question. Former National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes just accused the Biden administration of gaslighting Cuba.
QUESTION: That’s quite a promotion.
QUESTION: Huh? Deputy, I’m sorry.
QUESTION: He wasn’t.
QUESTION: He wasn’t. Okay, all right. Well, former Obama administration official Ben Rhodes accused the Biden administration of gaslighting Cuba. You’re maintaining the same harsh sanctions, the same harsh rhetoric, you’re not opening up. Could you explain that?
MR PRICE: Well, I’ll say a couple things. When it comes to Cuba, our policy has been predicated on the interests of the Cuban people, on the aspirations for greater freedom, greater democracy on the part of the Cuban people. It is true that this administration’s policy is not identical to the policy of the Obama-Biden administration. But it is also true that since 2017, five, six years have gone by. The Cuban regime in some ways has become even more repressive. We saw a stark reminder of that more than a year ago in July of 2021, when peaceful protests expressing aspirations for a brighter future were met with crackdowns and arrests and incarcerations across the island. That’s just one example of the repression that we’ve continued to see on the part of the Cuban regime.
We have taken steps that seek to serve the interests of the Cuban people. We have worked to restart travel and flights between the United States and Cuba. We have worked on programs that can unify and reunify families – separated in some cases by a mere 90 miles between Florida and Cuba – to bring families back together. We have increased our staffing at our embassy in Havana, in large part to provide additional consular support to process visas for, in many cases, this family reunification. And we’ve taken other steps that we think work and help to serve those interests and aspirations of the Cuban people.
LINK To Remarks By Mr. Rhodes: https://news.yahoo.com/former-top-obama-aide-accuses-biden-of-gaslighting-cuba-disappointed-doesnt-begin-to-scratch-the-surface-160058896.html
The White House
Washington DC
14 September 2022
From Yahoo: "White House national security spokesperson. “President Biden’s policy toward Cuba is rooted in supporting the Cuban people and protecting human rights. Our approach to Cuba, just like any other country, takes into account various current political, economic, and security factors,” the spokesperson said. “Over the past few years, conditions in Cuba and in the region have changed, and we have adapted our Cuba policy accordingly.”"
