MIAMI – Graphic video out of Cuba recounts violent encounter with special units the Cuban government uses called “Boinas Negras,” to intimidate protestors on the communist island.
It is exactly what Leticia Ramos Herrería, an outspoken member of the Ladies in White, an organization that engages in peaceful protests for freedom in Cuba, described hearing about.
She said the armed black-clad men are attacking unarmed Cubans.
In a video on social media, a woman named Marbelis Vazquez, recorded the moments when these men entered her home. She said they shot her husband and took him away in a wheelbarrow, leaving a puddle of blood inside her home, with her children present.
According to another Facebook post, she later said her husband is alive.
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, responded to Sunday’s protests, saying they were limited in scale and they were orchestrated by the United States. Rodriguez also sent the United States a warning.
“I’m warning the American government that its irresponsible conduct could have grave consequences, that may damage the interest of both countries,” said Rodriguez.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration addressed how they are approaching Cuba policy, given the protests.
“Certainly the events, the protests, the reaction, the continued oppression of the Cuban people, weighs in on our decision making process,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
Meanwhile in South Florida, Cuban Americans continue their protests in solidarity with Cubans on the island, near Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana.
They took to the Palmetto Expressway and parts of Okeechobee Road Tuesday night, saying they want to make sure that the message that Cubans on the communist island have risked their lives fighting for freedom is heard clearly in the White House and around the world.
Many of them using signs and wearing T-shirts to display the motto of the protests — “Patria Y Vida,” or “Homeland and Life.” The phrase antagonizes Fidel Castro’s rallying cry of “Socialism or Death” and Che Guevara’s “Homeland or Death” 1960s speech.