Biden says U.S. "stands firmly" with Cuban people amid protests against regime

Washington — President Biden on Monday said the United States "stands firmly" with the people of Cuba and "their clarion call for freedom" after thousands of Cubans mounted the biggest protests against the communist government in decades.

"The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected," Mr. Biden said in a statement. "The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves." The president said the U.S. stands "with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime."