GOP lawmakers slam 'Marxist' Black Lives Matter for statement blaming US for Cuban unrest

Republican lawmakers are slamming Black Lives Matter after the organization posted a statement that appeared to back Cuba’s communist government rather than the Cubans currently in the streets protesting.

On Wednesday, Black Lives Matter released a statement condemning the United States for its embargo on Cuba and suggested it’s the reason for the current unrest in the streets. 

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The statement angered several Republican lawmakers, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the son of a Cuban immigrant, who accused Black Lives Matter of "standing with" communists.

"Shameful," Cruz tweeted. "The group Black Lives Matter (funded by major players in corporate America) was founded by avowed Marxists and—as millions of Cubans risk their lives to rise up for freedom—BLM stands with…the communist dictatorship."

Cruz’s colleague, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., also took issue with the tweet and called it "insane."

"The radical Left has gone insane," Scott tweeted. "BLM is blaming America for the cruelty and oppression of the Castro Regime and their views are being echoed by prominent socialist Democrats. Freedom-loving Americans stand with the people of Cuba, not with the Regime that is oppressing them."

Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida of Cuban descent, responded to the statement by accusing the organization of extortion.

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"The extortionist ring known as the Black Lives Matter organization took a break today from shaking down corporations for millions & buying themselves mansions to share their support for the Communist regime in #Cuba," he posted on Instagram and Twitter.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., also took to social media to criticize the Black Lives Matter statement and said the organization is defending a murderous regime.

"It's no surprise that the Marxists of BLM are defending a murderous communist regime," Cotton said.

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Thousands of Cuban protesters have taken to the streets over the last several days to protest the communist regime that has ruled the island nation for six decades, prompting violent crackdowns from the government that have killed at least one person.

Republicans, including Rubio, have been critical of the Biden administration’s response to the crisis and protests have developed in the United States calling on the Biden administration to do more on the issue. 

"The U.S. stands firmly with the people of Cuba as they assert their universal rights," President Biden said on Monday. "And we call on the government of Cuba to refrain from violence in their attempt to silence the voices of the people of Cuba."

Republican Leader of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, R-Texas, commented on a tweet linking to BLM's defense of the Cuban regime saying, "While black Cuban activists are beaten by the regime and languish in prison cells, Marxist’s shamefully ignore their calls for freedom."