Gloria Estefan calls for international assistance for Cuba, tells US to get involved amid unrest
The 'Turn the Beat Around' singer posted a lengthy Instagram caption
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gloria Estefan has become the latest celebrity to speak out about the recent protests in Cuba.
Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, along with a resurgence of coronavirus cases, while under U.S. sanctions. Some protesters have demanded a change in the Communist government, railing against shortages of food and other necessities.
On Friday, the three-time Grammy winner took to Instagram to call on the United States and other international democratic countries to aid the Cuban people.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Cuban-born pop star wrote an impassioned plea in both English and Spanish alongside a video showing demonstrators taking to the streets in Cuba. Some of the video clips show people getting arrested by police and other acts of violence.
"My heart hurts for the Cuban people on the island & what they’ve already gone through for over 62 years. … But now they are saying ENOUGH," the singer wrote. "Despite the beatings, the murders & incarcerations, the abuses of power, the starvation & the attempted destruction of their spirits! They need our support & that of the democratic & free countries of the world."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gloria Estefan called on the United States and the United Nations to lend aid to Cuba. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
The star continued: "The United Nations &, very especially, the United States, must strongly condemn the repressive & violent measures being taken by the Cuban government against their own people! Spread the images, spread the word!"
Estefan’s words echo those she previously said in an interview with Reuters in which she called on the United Nations specifically to condemn the violence against Cuban demonstrators.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I call on the United Nations to condemn the Cuban government and their tactics against their own people, that they're using violence, that people are disappearing, that they've killed people," the "Turn the Beat Around" singer said.
Estefan said she hopes members of the police force and military who are doing the government’s bidding will follow their conscience and resist.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"My hopes are that there are enough people in the police and in the military that's going to start some kind of movement where they don't repress the people, where they stand up for the people that they're supposed to protect, instead of the government," she told Reuters.
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The star joined fellow Cuban stars such as Bella Thorne and Pitbull in calling on the United States to help the people of Cuba.