“We are seeing Cubans rise up and protest for their rights like never before,” Ocasio-Cortez began. “We stand in solidarity with them, and we condemn the anti-democratic actions led by [Cuban] President [Miguel] Diaz-Canel. The suppression of the media, speech and protest are all gross violations of civil rights.” The “Squad” member went on to call the embargo “the US contribution to Cuban suffering,” adding that it “is absurdly cruel and, like too many other US policies targeting Latin Americans, the cruelty is the point. I outright reject the Biden administration’s defense of the embargo. It is never acceptable for us to use cruelty as a point of leverage against every day [sic] people.”