Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) denounced the Cuban government’s deceitful investment practices. The Castro regime has been incentivizing American investors to invest in Cuba’s “private sector,” but the DeSantis administration warned that they’re not actually assisting the Cuban people, but rather lining the coffers of the Castro dictatorship.
“Over the past year and a half, the Biden administration has rolled back American sanctions on Cuba and has failed to assist the Cuban people in their fight for freedom,” DeSantis’ team said last week. “This has emboldened the racketeers who run the Cuban regime to launch a kleptocratic scheme claiming that they will welcome American investment in the island’s supposed private sector, but foreign investment is meaningless when there are no property rights for Cuban citizens and when the Cuban government will limit which ostensibly private businesses will be allowed to receive foreign funds.”
DeSantis pointed out that it has been one year since the protests of numerous Hispanic countries by exiles of those countries, many of whom live in Florida.
“One year ago we witnessed the largest demonstrations in decades against the Cuban regime in cities and towns across the island. With some additional pressure from our federal government, those protests may well have marked the downfall of the communist regime. Unfortunately, the Biden administration stood idly by as the people of Cuba cried out for freedom, refusing even to authorize the provision of satellite internet by American companies. The weak policies of this administration have led the regime to attempt to perpetrate a financial fraud against the American people under the guise of private investment opportunities. Only when Cuba allows free elections, stops jailing people in the middle of the night for simply saying they want human rights, and ensures private property rights for its citizens should the American people feel confident that money sent across the straits will truly benefit the Cuban people and not the racketeers who run their regime like a mafia.”
In July 2021, a South Florida caravan traveled to Washington D.C. in a protest called “libertad” to implore the United States government to take further action to eventually end the communist regime in Cuba.
“We want support for a humanitarian intervention in our country,” Yoan David Gonzalez, a member of the caravan said. “The Castro Communist regime is letting our people die, the number of deaths from coronavirus and all the repression that has been seen in recent days is no secret to anyone.”
The DeSantis administration has backed the Cuban communities in Florida for their opposition to the Castro regime.
“A free Cuba would be in the interests of the United States of America,” DeSantis said. “If you want influence of the Communist Party of China and Russia in the Western Hemisphere, then support the regime in Havana because every nefarious influence around the world comes through there. If you don’t want Chinese influence and you don’t want Russian influence, then you should want a free Cuba.”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Ron DeSantis.
