Black Lives Matter activists blamed the U.S. government, not the Castro regime, for the anti-regime protests that have rocked Cuba.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation accused the United States of having instituted an economic embargo "with the explicit intention of destabilizing the country and undermining Cubans' right to choose their own government," a move the foundation said was "at the heart of the crisis." The group praised Cuba's "strong medical care" and implied that American policy was linked to racial animus.
"The U.S. government has only instigated suffering for the country's 11 million - of which 4 million are Black and Brown," the foundation said in an Instagram post.
The statement echoes rhetoric from Cuban president and Communist Party first secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel, who blamed the United States for the protests even as his government shut off the internet, deployed anti-riot squads, and began arresting artists who attempted to get on television.
Cuban-American lawmakers, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), condemned Black Lives Matter for defending the communist regime.
"The extortionist ring known as the Black Lives Matter organization took a break today from shaking down corporations for millions & buying themselves mansions to share their support for the Communist regime in Cuba," he wrote on Twitter.
The extortionist ring known as the Black Lives Matter organization took a break today from shaking down corporations for millions & buying themselves mansions to share their support for the Communist regime in #Cuba https://t.co/xir94EIJ4X
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 15, 2021
Black Lives Matter has faced intense criticism in recent months following revelations that cofounder Patrisse Cullors, who calls herself a "trained Marxist," purchased four homes worth in total $3.2 million as the foundation raked in corporate and small-dollar donations.