Wasserman Schultz Statement on President Biden’s Cuba Policy Announcement

Washington DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) released the following statement in response to new policies outlined by the Biden Administration to promote democracy in Cuba:

“The Cuban pro-democracy movement needs America’s unwavering support, and the Biden Administration’s announced reinstatement of the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program, while also opting to maintain the State Department’s Cuba Restricted List, will undoubtedly aid that fight for freedom. However, I remain unconvinced that easing group travel restrictions – even with new post-trip audits – will truly weaken this regime’s oppressive policies. In fact, it may enrich the Diaz-Canel dictatorship at a time when its Kremlin paymaster faces economic ruin.

Our focus must remain on supporting Cuban human rights, ending this regime’s grinding racial, labor and LGBTQ+ discrimination, and demanding the immediate release of its political prisoners. That includes the Biden Administration’s new measures to increase the island’s access to U.S. internet services and continuing to block the enrichment of the Cuban military and other human rights abusers through remittance payments.

History has opened a door for freedom in Cuba. It is crucial that America feed that democracy movement so that it blooms in the widening cracks where an enfeebled Vladimir Putin can no longer prop up Cuba’s brutal despots. Whether it’s Caracas, Havana or Kyiv, America’s policies must defend democracy’s front lines, and I will work with and press the Biden Administration to do that.”