WASHINGTON (WSVN) – Cuban Americans have boarded buses and planes to Washington to demonstrate outside of the White House in support of the protests happening on the island.
Dozens of Cuban Americans could be seen standing in front of the White House for most of Friday holding signs and flags.
“I used to suffer so much, and then, on top of that, when they deported me back to Cuba, I was only 11 years old,” Miami resident Dayli Varona said. “They spit on me. They kicked me. They spit on my mom. They didn’t want me in the school. They made me feel like I was not human, and Cubans are humans. Cubans need help!”
The words “Cuba Libre” are now displayed in front of the Cuban embassy in the heart of Washington. The message is from people who are tired of the 62 years of oppression on the island.
“We just want empathy from the American government and condemn, or make a hard statement, that what’s going on in our country has to stop, and that dictatorship has to go,” Los Pichy Boys member Alejandro Gonzalez said.
Miami resident Marbel Server flew into the nation’s capital because she wanted to have her voice heard.
“Help us free Cuba,” Server said. “We’re asking for intervention, humanitarian intervention. Military intervention is what we’re advocating for. People here have one message, and that is to be heard, to be helped, and we need to bring this regime down.”
After days of demonstrations throughout South Florida, Floridians are traveling to the White House to put as much pressure on President Joe Biden, his administration and lawmakers to act after Cubans risked their lives for freedom.
“Enough is enough,” Miami resident Evelio Medina said. “We don’t want medicine. We want freedom, basically. We don’t want food anymore. We’re beyond that. Right now, what we want is freedom. We can’t go back. We have to go forward now for freedom.”
More Cuban Americans plan to join the demonstrations in Washington on Saturday.
“I have never felt hungry in my whole life, but I don’t want to know in my life there are other people my age feeling hunger,” 14-year-old protester Daniel Betancourt said. “[The Cuban flag] represents to me my past. The people that’s made sacrifices for me to have a better future.”
Musician Willy Chirino posted a video message online to thank everyone who plans to make the journey to Washington.
“There’s no going back,” Chirino said in Spanish. “Viva Cuba libre! Thank you for going to Washington to ask President Biden to intervene and to urge the dictatorship to cease the violence against the Cuban people.”
Demonstrators in Washington held a vigil for those on the island, Friday night. They laid a banner on the ground and surrounded it with candles.
A rally is planned for Saturday in the nation’s capital at 5 p.m.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.