Biden calls Cuba a 'failed state,' communism a 'failed system,' says the U.S. may beam in internet access
Cuba cut off internet access Sunday after Cubans held the country's largest anti-government protest in decades. When the government partially restored the internet on Wednesday, "images and videos circulated on social media that purported to show police officers breaking into Cubans' homes and arresting suspected protesters," The Washington Post reports. President Biden said earlier this week that the U.S. "stands firmly" with Cubans and their "clarion call for freedom," and on Thursday he suggested his administration may try to ensure that Cubans can communicate online.
"Communism is a failed system, universally failed system," and Cuba is, "unfortunately, a failed state and repressing their citizens," Biden said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday. "They've cut off access to the internet. We're considering where we have the technological ability to reinstate that access."
Earlier Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), two House Republicans, and the senior GOP commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, urged Biden to approve experimental technologies to enable Cuban citizens to evade their government's internet blackouts.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Carr pointed to a decommissioned system called Loon, developed by Google and a company called Raven, that uses high-altitude hot air balloons to broadcast a wireless signal to specific areas. He said the balloons could be deployed about 20 miles off the Cuban coast, in international waters, for an unspecified cost.
As DeSantis was holding his press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was calling the lack of internet access "a huge issue in Cuba and one that is very challenging for the people of Cuba." Privately, Politico reports, "Biden administration officials have been discussing the logistics of how to get around Cuban censorship, but the administration is still engaged in a monthslong review of Cuba policy."
Cubans could only access the internet at tourist hotels until 2013, when former President Barack Obama reached a deal with Cuba to restore diplomatic ties and allow U.S. telecommunications firms to offer internet and other services to the island, Reuters reported in 2019. Former President Donald Trump reversed many of Obama's Cuba policies, and a 2019 final report from a State Department task force concluded that the change in policies deterred U.S. companies from investing in Cuba, leaving Chinese companies to dominate the market. That's "worth challenging given concerns that the Cuban government potentially obtains its censorship equipment from Chinese internet infrastructure providers," the report advised.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Her Lotus Year: Paul French's new biography sets lurid rumours straight
The Week Recommends Wallis Simpson's year in China is less scandalous, but 'more interesting' than previously thought
By The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - November 21, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - wild cards, wild turkeys, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Say Nothing: 'sensational' dramatisation of Patrick Radden Keefe's bestselling book
The Week Recommends The series is a 'powerful reminder' of the Troubles
By The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in Russia
Speed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What does the G20 summit say about the new global order?
Today's Big Question Donald Trump's election ushers in era of 'transactional' geopolitics that threatens to undermine international consensus
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Joe Biden's legacy: economically strong, politically disastrous
In Depth The President boosted industry and employment, but 'Bidenomics' proved ineffective to winning the elections
By The Week UK Published