Leftists from around the world descended on Cuba over the weekend for a “humanitarian” trip aimed at protesting the United States’ oil blockade, and they played the role of useful idiots perfectly. Nothing says solidarity like going to an impoverished country and staying at a five-star hotel.
Hundreds of delegates from dozens of countries brought several tons of food, medicine and other supplies to the island, which is struggling through an energy crisis.
The best way to help the Cuban people, of course, would be to free them from a dictatorship that has failed to meet their needs for more than half a century. Yet the roster of attendees was more interested in bashing America.
Former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was joined by radical groups like Code Pink and the Chinese Communist Party-linked People’s Forum. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) couldn’t make the trip, but she was “incredibly proud” that her activist daughter tagged along. One of the most famous attendees was a celebrity streamer best known for praising global authoritarians while playing video games.
The reality is that the U.S. has not hurt Cuba nearly as much as the communist dictatorship has. State Department rules “generally prohibit persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction” from staying at properties owned or controlled by the Cuban government or its officials. And for good reason: Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism that squelches political dissent.
More than a million Cubans have fled since 2021, when the Castro regime cracked down on protest amid a dire economic crisis. While the socialist tourists might blame American sanctions for the island’s decline, Cubans overwhelmingly believe the people who have run their economy since 1959 are more at fault. They also might take a jaundiced view of people coming to the island to support the dictatorship while enjoying a concert and air-conditioned buses.
President Donald Trump has mused about taking over the island, and his administration is openly pining for regime change. The White House doesn’t care about spreading democracy so much as having a friendlier government. Yet the island’s visitors weren’t exactly pushing for democratic change.
The truth is that these activists only care about Cubans now that they have an excuse to rail against America. The schtick might have been more convincing without the parties.
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