For a week or so, members of the so-called “squad” remained largely silent on the Cuban protests calling for freedom from the communist regime. Certifiably insane Rep. Cori Bush did manage to mention it in passing in order to try to justify the George Floyd riots, but other than that, there’s been basically nothing.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has finally spoken out, though. In a meandering statement, she spends three of her four tweets condemning the United States and blaming it for the hardships in Cuba. No mention of communism is made, of course, and it was originally in Spanish.

Later, she put the statement in English.

We stand in solidarity with the Cuban people and condemn the suppression of the media, speech and protest.

We also call for an end to the U.S. embargo and additional Trump-era restrictions that are profoundly contributing to the suffering of Cubans. pic.twitter.com/Fw6Quv5TAN

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 16, 2021

This is the go-to line from communist sympathizers. They’ll half-heartedly denounce the Cuban government, though, they usually focus only on specific actions as if everything would otherwise be fine if the communist dictators just treated people better. But it always comes back to the US embargo. Of note is that the embargo does not stop Cuba from trading with other countries. They can trade with Russia, China, South American nations, etc. Cuba’s government has also turned down aid in regards to COVID vaccines and medical supplies.

Further, the idea that everything would be fine if Cuba were just richer via trade with the US is another slap in the face of the dissidents risking their lives there to speak out. The problems in Cuba are not economic. Rather, the economic issues are just a symptom of a far greater problem. Even without the embargo, the Castro regime would just enrich itself further.

AOC’s response was so bad that even some Democrats are lambasting her.

No. This is not correct.

It’s the failed policies of a communist regime that has violated human rights, imprisoned & killed dissidents.

Cuban ppl -young & old- are risking their lives to rise up, we must listen to them.

This is a matter of national security.
The US must act. https://t.co/Wne0crVV8w

— Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (@DebbieforFL) July 16, 2021

AOC will never condemn communism by name, though. Certainly, no media member will press her on the issue either. By bringing up the embargo, AOC is simply deflecting. She wants to be able to say “yeah, human rights are important but it’s really the US that’s causing all the issues.” The anti-American sentiment is hardly new from the far-left, yet it’s especially egregious when Cubans are being shot in the streets while waving American flags.

To summarize all this, Cubans want freedom, not imports. That mainline Democrats are belittling their fight by trying to blame the United States is a complete misreading of the situation. Unfortunately, that misreading is obviously deliberate.