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Did the White House Suggest Cuban Protests Were Only About Vaccines and U.S. Sanctions?
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Did the White House Suggest Cuban Protests Were Only About Vaccines and U.S. Sanctions?

A tweet from Ben Shapiro came in response to a Biden official, before the White House issued its statement

Alec Dent
Jul 14, 2021
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(Photo By Alberto Ortega/Europa Press/Getty Images.)

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro claimed in a tweet Monday that the White House suggested that “this liberty movement [in Cuba] is solely about lack of vaccines and US sanctions.”

Twitter avatar for @benshapiroBen Shapiro @benshapiro
I personally spoke to some of the leaders of Cuba's dissident movement just weeks ago. The mainstream media and Biden WH line that this liberty movement is solely about lack of vaccines and US sanctions is a total lie. It is about the evil repression of a communist tyranny.

July 12th 2021

6,773 Retweets30,523 Likes

This tweet came after Biden administration official  Julie Chung, who is the  acting assistant secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairstweeted that the protesters are acting to “express concern about rising COVID cases/deaths & medicine shortages.”

Chung was the first Biden official to speak out on the protests in Cuba, and it wasn’t until Monday morning that President Biden released a statement, in which he said: 

“We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime. The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.”

Chung later shared a tweet echoing Biden’s statement.

Twitter avatar for @WHAAsstSectyJulie Chung @WHAAsstSecty
Cuba's people continue to bravely express yearning for freedom in the face of repression. We call on Cuba's gov’t to: Refrain from violence. Listen to their citizens’ demands. Respect protestor & journalist rights. The Cuban people have waited long enough for ¡Libertad!

July 12th 2021

624 Retweets1,269 Likes

While Shapiro’s tweet prompted criticism given Biden’s statement did not claim the protests were “solely about the lack of vaccines and US sanctions,” his tweet preceded the release of Biden’s statement. It is now clear from Biden’s comments that his administration does not believe the protests in Cuba are “solely” about the government’s pandemic response, but such was not the case when Shapiro initially tweeted.

If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com.

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Jim Carpenter
Jul 14, 2021Liked by Alec Dent

So, since Shapiro was responding to Julie Chung’s initial statement, “fact check true”, in other words.

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3 replies by Alec Dent and others
Patrick O'Rouke
Jul 15, 2021

This is a problem entirely created by the instantaneous nature of twitter. It shouldn't even be a controversy. Nobody is allowed any time to pause and think something over any more before they're expected to start throwing out hot takes.

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