As Biden takes steps on Cuba policy, some Cuban Americans say they want to see more forceful actions

MIAMI – Belkis Gutiérrez, 54, is constantly watching videos from Cuba showing people’s dissatisfaction with the government following the historic protests that rocked the communist island a few weeks ago.

Gutiérrez, who backed President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, said she wanted bolder government action on Cuba following the arrests of protesters and concerns about food shortages and rising Covid-19 cases.

“I was expecting something more violent than just sanctioning Cuban officials who are not going to the US anyway,” said Gutiérrez, who left Cuba two decades ago and has close relatives on the island.

When asked what she would prefer, Gutiérrez said Biden should form an international coalition that can travel to Cuba and have a dialogue with the government to ask them for specific changes.

Many Cuban Americans want to take more courageous action against the Cuban government, with demands ranging from military intervention to the lifting of the decade-long embargo.

Biden is in a difficult situation. The Cuba sanctions program is already the most comprehensive administered by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, leaving Biden little room for additional sanctions. Since the protests, the Biden government has sanctioned three Cuban officials and two units allegedly involved in the crackdown – the Cuban National Revolutionary Police and an elite brigade of government forces known as the Black Berets. But these sanctions are largely symbolic. Earlier this year, the Biden administration kept Cuba on the list of countries not fully cooperating with US counter-terrorism efforts, which surprised many – including those in the Cuban government.

Since that moment, and especially after the protests, rhetoric by officials in both countries has intensified, with the United States condemning human rights abuses in Cuba and officials on the island accusing the US government of stirring up the riots. Even after the Cuban embassy in Paris was attacked with gasoline bombs, the Cuban government blamed the United States and “the ongoing campaigns against our country.”

A man was arrested during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana on July 11th.Yamil Location / AFP – Getty Images file

Jason Poblete, a Washington, DC, lawyer and Republican who criticized Biden’s reaction, called for tougher measures against the Cuban government, including further restrictions on the decade-long embargo and sanctions.

“July 11th may be a one-off event,” said Poblete. “Stakeholders should reach beyond party and ideological boundaries in order to develop a new policy.”

Last week, Biden met with a group of Cuban-American elected officials and community leaders to discuss the US response. Some – left and right – criticized the meeting, saying the group did not capture the feelings of all Cuban Americans. Others said the government should listen to the Cubans on the island rather than those here.

Ric Herrero, Executive Director of the Cuba Study Group, which advocates greater engagement between the two countries, was at the recent White House meeting and highlighted “practical steps” the government can take, particularly to improve Internet access, which many are seeing as crucial to give the Cuban people more information and more freedom of expression.

Herrero said the steps include “enabling the operation of cloud-based subscription services, online payments and peer-to-peer platforms in Cuba that are currently banned by US sanctions,” as well as other more complex methods such as balloons in great height to expand the Internet access, be studied.

Herrero believes that former President Donald Trump’s actions against Cuba – such as travel restrictions, remittances and the downsizing of the embassy – are harmful “because they are trying to empower the people.”

Opinions differing from right and left at the meeting, according to Carmen Pelaez, a filmmaker and activist who belonged to the group of around nine Cubans.

“They had represented every perspective of US-Cuba policy,” said Pelaez, “but the focus was on how best to support the Cuban people.”

In Florida, foreign policy is domestic policy

While the protests in Cuba have subsided, the momentum continues in Miami. Cuban Americans have gathered in Miami and Washington, DC, in their support. Cars drive through Miami with Cuban flags while reggaeton and salsa songs are played on the radio calling for freedom in Cuba. The emotions Cuban Americans feel when they hear the word “freedom” in the streets of Cuba can still be felt in conversations.

A lot is at stake for Biden. Trump won Florida, traditionally a swing state and the largest in the country, by around 3 percentage points, undoing the Democratic achievements that former President Barack Obama won in the Cuban American vote in 2012. A majority of Cuban Americans voted for Trump in 2020, with the biggest shift in support for Trump coming from other Latino voter groups from countries affected by socialism or Marxist movements and therefore supporting a tough stance on Cuba.

These groups are all closely monitoring how Biden reacts in Cuba, making this a kind of litmus test for the president.

Trump’s government dovetailed policies towards Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and often took action against Cuba to support President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela when the country plunged into economic crisis.

At a recent rally in Miami’s Bayfront Park, hundreds gathered to call for freedom for Cuba – and also for Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Sol Diaz, 7, attends a rally in Bayfront Park in downtown Miami on Saturday. Matias J. Ocner / AP

The Republican Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, called after the protests to investigate air strikes and military intervention against Cuba.

The Republicans have capitalized on the events in Cuba. Two days after the protests, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a round table in Miami to address concerns. Kevin McCarthy, of California, has set up an advisory team on guides on Cuba and traveled to Miami countries this week. Cuban-American Congressmen have also attended the “Freedom” rallies in Miami and Washington DC

“The Republicans have turned Cuba into a science,” Herrero said, adding that the demands of what to do in Cuba were impractical.

“The Republicans know that,” said Herrero. “And they will continue to hammer calls for military intervention because they want to embarrass Biden.”

But Republicans are notoriously good at taking active action against Cuban Americans and other Latin American diasporas. Trump kicked off his Cuban policy in 2017 with an audience of Cuban Americans in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, and visits from administrative officials never stopped.

Some Democrats have asked Biden to come to Miami and speak to Cuban Americans.

Since the protests, the Florida Democrats have made statements in their statements against the Cuban government, but overall their commitment has not reached the level of Republicans.

Florida Commissioner for Agriculture Nikki Fried, the only statewide Democratic Agency running for governor in 2022, has been active, meeting with Cuban-American leaders, participating in a protest in Miami, and repeatedly tweeting about Cuba for freedom to promote.

Both the Democratic National Committee and Nuestro PAC have run ads targeting Cuban-American voters highlighting Biden’s support for the Cuban people. Senator Rick Scott, R-Fla., Also posted an advertisement in Florida and Washington, DC pledging eternal support to protesters in Cuba.

“Republicans and Democrats should approach this issue one way: what’s best for American interests first, rather than the interests of just one state, Florida,” Poblete said.

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