MIAMI (WSVN) - A day after the Cuban regime quashed planned protests in Cuba, South Florida lawmakers gathered outside the White House to speak on the matter.
Congress members on Tuesday called on the Biden administration to do more to help the people on the island nation.
“For months, the Cuban people have their part,” said U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar., R-Fla. “Now we, the United States, we must do ours.”
“The entire power of that regime was unleashed to prevent people from walking in the streets and shouting slogans,” said U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance and European Latin American Legislators also gathered on Tuesday.
They discussed what they saw on video and what they didn’t see due to the repressive regime.
Videos showed what immediately happened to those who went up against the regime on Monday.
A mother recorded her three children and their friend, a 74-year-old woman, as they were arrested and tossed into a white van.
Moments after her children were taken away, she told 7News she knows the pain her kids will suffer. She said officers show no mercy and beat you once detained.
The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance has been receiving videos of Cubans on the island.
“They’re using every moment to be able to send these videos, so that the world may see what’s going on inside Cuba,” said Sylvia Irondo with the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance.
One video showed priests marching in solidarity with peaceful protesters.
The organization has been sharing them so others can see why Cubans demand freedom and what happens to them when they do.
“We have spoken with the priests, some of them, with the nuns, with evangelical leaders,” said Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat with the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance. “We know they’re being followed, they’re being harassed, but they have stood up, and this is a very, very powerful statement.”
Cubans said they still found ways to protest from their homes such as waving white sheets from their windows.
Local activists said the struggle for freedom in Cuba continues.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.