“There are no political prisoners in Cuba,” said Miguel Díaz-Canel in front of the members of the Caravan of Pastors for Peace. “Here, there are people who are not with the Revolution and who can demonstrate freely,” the president emphasized in a meeting that took place on November 22, but that was only released this Friday on the television program Mesa Redonda.
“In Cuba there are many processes that are public, to discuss programs, to discuss policies as we did with the Constitution,” Díaz-Canel justified. “In everyday life there are people who speak ill of the Revolution, what happens is that many times the taste of the people who manipulate and use for that, or those who by their own conviction are against the Revolution, leads them to commit crimes “.
As an example of this, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba points to “those who went out on July 11 to throw stones, to act against the people, to loot, wherever in the world they were (sic) imprisoned,” he stresses. “But not because they are against the Revolution, but simply because they committed crimes against property and against internal order.”
In a very different tone from the one he used during the day of popular protests, Díaz-Canel chose on this occasion to try to dispel questions about the repressive wave
In a very different tone from the one used during the day of popular protests in which the national television cameras said earlier that “the order to fight is given,” Díaz-Canel opted on this occasion to try to dispel the questions about the repressive wave unleashed after the demonstrations and justified the arrests
“What happens is that many times the empire itself in its media campaign tries to link to the activity against the Revolution people who lead them to commit vandalism,” he adds. However, most of the popular demonstrations of 11J were peaceful in nature, and the participants used slogans and verbal complaints as the main form of expression.
Among the listeners of the intervention of the ruler, in addition to the members of the caravan, were the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez and the head of the Office of Religious Affairs of the Communist Party, Caridad Diego, among other official officials, and Gail Walker, daughter by Lucius Walker, founder of the organization.
Díaz-Canel also took advantage of the occasion to defend the “equality” that the revolutionary process has offered to Cuban women and people of African descent, although he clarified that “imperialism tries to use these issues to fracture our unity.” “They constantly encourage and create the slander that discrimination persists in Cuba.”
However, he acknowledged that young people have not been able to “enjoy the social conquests” that in his opinion were achieved in the first decades of the process. “We have the challenge of ensuring that generational separation is never an ideological break. We can only achieve it by sharing values and becoming part of the criticism we make within the Revolution.”
Díaz-Canel also did not miss an opportunity to send a message to the Joe Biden administration. “Imperialism, not even a bit like that, is treacherous and despises the peoples,” he said, quoting a phrase from Ernesto Guevara. “He turns to slander and lies and when he is defeated he tries to victimize himself,” he said. “Nobody believes [eso] what they call democracy. “
“North American bipartisanship is a lie,” he added, explaining that “a Republican president imposes 243 measures to intensify the blockade against Cuba and a Democratic president leaves the same measures”
“North American bipartisanship is a lie,” he added and explained that “a Republican president imposes 243 measures to intensify the blockade against Cuba and a Democratic president leaves the same measures,” alluding to the sanctions promoted by Donald Trump and that Biden has not eliminated. , even added new ones.
It was recently revealed that the White House’s intentions to partially modify US policy towards the Island had been halted as a result of the repression of July 11, according to what Juan González, director of the National Security Council for the Western Hemisphere, revealed in an interview with NBC News.
“After July 11, we pressed the pause button,” said the senior official, who considers the date of the anti-government protests a before and after. “Even the Cuban Americans who were in favor of the compromise said: ‘We have to wait, pay attention to this moment and see how to move forward from here.
To date, independent organizations have documented 1,283 detainees as a result of the demonstrations on that day. Of that total, at least 540 are still in prison and they assure that they have verified 42 convicts in summary trials.
In its report, the independent legal platform Cubalex showed special concern about “the use of the figure of sedition to impose exemplary sanctions on at least 122 people” and recalled that before July 11, Cuban Prisoners Defenders registered 152 political prisoners.
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