Dozens of demonstrators protesting conditions in Cuba shut down a section of highway in Miami-Dade County.
The large group assembled at the Palmetto Expressway on Tuesday afternoon, with many waving Cuban flags and holding signs reading “Libertad,” which translates to “freedom” in English. The scene was captured on video as several police cars were observed near the crowd while stopped cars piled up.
It was not immediately clear how many vehicles were involved in the blockage.
#BREAKING – The Palmetto Expressway (SR-826) has been shut down in both directions near Coral Way and SW 32nd Street as protestors voicing their support for the people of Cuba went onto the expressway. pic.twitter.com/8cCFNmL5m7
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) July 13, 2021
This comes after Cuban residents erupted in massive protests throughout the embattled nation on Sunday, demanding an end to the communist dictatorship. The scenes drew support from several prominent U.S. figures, including President Joe Biden, who urged the Cuban regime to permit peaceful demonstrations.
US WARNS CUBAN REGIME: ‘PROTESTERS ARE DEEPLY TIRED OF THE REPRESSION’
“The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights,” Biden said in a Monday statement. “Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.”
President Miguel Diaz-Canel referred to the situation as unrest and likened the protesters to “mercenaries.” He also faulted the United States for the demonstrations, though Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that was not the case.
“It would be a grievous mistake for the Cuban regime to interpret what is happening in dozens of towns and cities across the island as the result or product of anything the United States has done,” Blinken said.
Miami has a large share of U.S. residents of Cuban descent, and leaders from the area have shown solidarity with the protesters.
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“Spontaneous street protests breaking out in several cities in #Cuba right now with chants of #NoTenemosMiedo (We Are Not Afraid),” said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Cuban American. “Frustration with the dictatorships incompetence, greed & repression is mounting rapidly.”
Spontaneous street protests breaking out in several cities in #Cuba right now with chants of #NoTenemosMiedo (We Are Not Afraid)
Frustration with the dictatorships incompetence,greed & repression is mounting rapidly pic.twitter.com/eSAr8Xrxpf
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 11, 2021
Similarly, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava expressed support for the protesters by demanding a “free Cuba.”
“We stand united with the Cuban people on the island and across our community at this historic moment in the struggle for freedom, dignity, and basic human rights — may their courageous actions bring about real change and move us closer to the dream of a free Cuba,” she wrote on Monday.
