As the tension between the Cuban people and the Castro regime continues to escalate, discussions continue in the United States as to what the proper response should be. Taking to the Senate floor to explore the subject, Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) said that the Biden administration is discussing “remittances.” However, Rubio brought up an issue that lawmakers and Americans have been questioning since the protests in Cuba began, which is “why don’t we get rid of the embargo?”
“We’ve heard more about Cuba in the last week than probably the 10 years I’ve been here combined,” Rubio began, sharing that other lawmakers may not have been following the conflict in Cuba as meticulously as others have. As the political issue has grown more tense, Rubio said that there’s a “fundamental question being put to us,” which is “why don’t we get rid of the embargo?”
“the people in Cuba are suffering, the people of Cuba are going through a difficult economy time,” he added, noting that he “would argue that they’ve done so for 62 years.”
To those that argue that getting rid of the embargo would “make life easier for them,” Rubio argues that “Cuba does not have an embargo in the way people think.”
Sen. Rubio, who is currently running a reelection campaign against Florida Rep. Val Demings (D), detailed that “Cuba trades with the whole world.”
“For example, Cuba, every year, exports $1.2 billion dollars – which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s a lot for an island of 11 million people, ok. They export $461 million dollars to China, $127 million dollars to Spain, $65 million to Netherlands, $64 million to Germany,” he added.
In turn, Rubio argues that “this is not a country that’s isolated.”
The rest of his speech was shared on Twitter, arguing that “the only ‘blockade’ is the one the regime has imposed on the people of Cuba.”
The only “blockade” is the one the regime has imposed on the people of #Cuba #AbajoLaDictadura pic.twitter.com/P4sdx8Xn0I
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 21, 2021
