Demonstrators shut down a major South Florida expressway Tuesday while marching to show support for the thousands of Cubans who protested Cuba’s communist regime over the weekend.
According to ABC News, a large group of protesters gathered in Miami chanting support for the Cuban anti-communist effort. Hundreds more gathered in a park several miles away, peacefully waving flag and cheering for the island demonstrators who took a stand against Cuba’s authoritarian government.
CBS4 Miami shared images of the protests on Twitter. Dozens of demonstrators held up a massive banner that read: “Patria y vida. Cubanos en Miami,” which translates to “Homeland and life. Cubans in Miami.” Numerous others carried the Cuban flag.
“South Florida’s show of support for the Cuban people continued Tues. w/ demonstrators shutting down parts of the Palmetto for hours after protests on the island nation,” CBS4 tweeted.
ABC News Politics also tweeted an image from the protests, which included a sign that read “No Communism” when translated into English.
Footage shared on Twitter by CBS12 showed hundreds of demonstrators marching in solidarity with the island protesters.
“Think about this statement: SOS Cuba. S-O-S. What does that stand for? We’ve seen it in movies when we were kids. SOS was always about ‘we need help.’ They’re calling the world to come and help. The time to help is now,” one protester told CBS12.
In response to the uprising in Cuba, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a roundtable with Cuban-American members of Congress.
“If we’re understanding the stakes, understanding why people are revolting, and we’re siding with the Cuban people, you could probably get a lot of the policies right at that point,” DeSantis said. “
“If you go into it thinking that they’re upset about a vaccine shortage or they’re upset that there is not enough groceries in the store, but they just want this regime to change a few things around and kind of rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic — if that’s what you think, then you clearly have no hope of getting a favorable outcome here,” the governor continued, rejecting reports that the island demonstrations were in response to COVID-19 vaccine shortages.
“I had a good discussion with leaders in the Cuban-American community about the communist dictatorship’s crimes against the people of Cuba,” DeSantis later tweeted. “We stand in solidarity with the people of Cuba and we are united in our support of their right to choose freedom over the communist regime.”
Daughter of Cuban exiles and Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar echoed DeSantis’ message, using the Biden administration to stand strong against the Cuban government.
“We cannot negotiate with the regime at this hour,” Salazar said.
