AOC Says Trump Admin's Cuba Blockade Is Part Of a 'New Era Of Depravity'

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the Trump administration's oil blockade on Cuba, saying it illustrates a new "era of depravity."

The lawmaker made the remark after being asked for a reaction to an article from Drop Site News, which claimed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is deceiving Trump about there being high-level talks with Cuban officials.

"This is what we've seen with Gaza, a new era of depravity. There used to be, or there was this stated commitment on human rights where innocent civilians were almost exempt from blockades. And now it's almost acceptable for the Western world to look the other way as people are starved or deprived because they find political actors or regimes to be objectionable," she said.

"What we're seeing is the possible precipice of hospitals running out of fuel. Innocent children and women could be put in harm's way. It's incumbent upon all of us to defend human rights no matter where," she added.

Other Democrats have criticized the policy over the past days. Rep. Ilhan Omar said the Trump administration's goal is to "crush" the Cuban people, "manufacture a humanitarian catastrophe, and force regime change at any cost." "It is unconscionable and cruel. We must stop it," Omar added.

Last week Rep. Chuy Garcia said that "for 65 years, the U.S. has maintained an embargo against Cuba, deliberately starving civilians in the hope that their desperation triggers an uprising."

He went on to claim that the tariffs could force "more migration" and argued against them. "Cuba poses no threat to the United States, but that's not the point. Trump is manufacturing an excuse for cruelty and regime change," he concluded.

Drop Site News detailed that Rubio is deceiving Trump about talks as part of his scheme to overthrow the Havana regime. It cited a senior Trump official noting that Trump is making claims about there being talks because "that's what Marco is telling him."

The official went on to say that Rubio's plan is making a claim in the future that talks failed because Havana refused to compromise.

The State Department rejected the notion: "As the President stated, we are talking to Cuba, whose leaders should make a deal. Cuba is a failing nation whose rulers have had a major setback with the loss of support from Venezuela and with Mexico ceasing to send them oil," an official said in a statement.

A Cuban official also told the outlet that there are no talks underway but they are eager to begin. "At the moment, we've had some exchanges of messages, but we cannot say we have set a bilateral dialogue at this moment," Cuban Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio recently told CNN.

Originally published on Latin Times

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Democrats, Cuba, Oil