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."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

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.