MIAMI (WSVN) - Some Cuban Americans in South Florida have continued to demonstrate in support of the protests happening in Cuba, as Emilio Estefan releases a new song in honor of the protest.
Whether it’s through music or prayer, South Floridians have been doing what they can to show support for Cubans demanding freedom from a communist dictatorship.
“It’s so important that we take this moment to make the change in Cuba, bring hope to the people and have the support because every day counts, every minute counts,” Estefan said. “I think every image that they see now for the first time globally is really going to make the change.”
Estefan and the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba released a music video called “Libertad” on Tuesday. They said it captured the Cuban people’s pain and hope over the past 60 years.
“The song is not about the music. This is about a way to show a little bit of rhythm, but it’s about the image that people need to see the reality that happened in Cuba over 62 years,” Estefan said.
At Barry University, South Floridians participated in a moment of unity and support for Cubans on the island.
“This has been a very, very stressful summer for many of us in South Florida,” Barry University Chaplain Father Cristobal Torres said. “It’s Cuba. It’s President Moïse in Haiti. It’s Surfside and so many things. We want to have a moment to come together, especially at this time when the people of Cuba are crying out for freedom.”
On Monday, President Joe Biden asked the state department to look into adding more staff at the U.S. embassy.
According to a senior official, the administration also ordered a review of remittances for Cuban families and to make sure the money gets to them.
Movimiento Democracia has been more involved on the island recently. They are trying to help those who have been arrested since demonstrations on the island began over a week ago.
“What has been announced up to now is totally insufficient, and we don’t have time,” Cuban exile Ramon Saul Sanchez said.
The organization has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States in Washington to look into the matter.
“They have tried to visit Cuba to find out exactly what’s going on,” a Movimiento Democracia spokesperson said. “Cuba has never allowed them to enter the country.”
The organization’s view was echoed during a Congressional hearing about Cuba in Washington.
“None of them mention the U.S. embargo but instead homeland and life, patria y vida, the alternative to the Castro slogan of homeland and death,” activist Rosa María Payá said.
Meanwhile, more demonstrations took place in downtown Miami, in Little Havana outside of Cafe Versailles and in Pompano Beach.
“I think what matters is what the people want,” a demonstrator said.
“It’s either fight or die trying is what’s in their minds right now,” another demonstrator said.
More demonstrations are planned for Wednesday, including one at Tropical Park that will begin at 5 p.m.
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