As Cubans continue to suffer from widespread power outages, leading Republican lawmakers on Wednesday warned of the dangers of socialist policies creeping into the federal government.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), the only Cuban-born lawmaker in Congress, said the tragedy facing the island has continued for 65 years under the Castro brothers and current President Miguel Diaz-Canel. He said that the authoritarian rule of the left was the direct cause.
“It’s been six days since the entire island of Cuba has been without power,” Jimenez said, further explaining that the government is initiating occasional 20-hour local power outages to conserve power.
“But at least they had electricity.” [then]. The entire island is now pitch black. All this is due to the incompetence of the socialist-communist system that the Cubans brought with them…”
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A panoramic view of the city during a nationwide power outage due to power grid failure in Havana, taken on October 18, 2024. (Photo by Yamil Raji/AFP)
Jimenez said this whole situation is a warning against Vice President Kamala Harris, members of Congress with socialist leanings, and the election of members of Congress who identify with socialist leanings.
“Bernie Sanders, AOC, and now Kamala Harris… [sic] To the left of Bernie Sanders: I’ve always said they’re all socialists,” further suggesting that Sanders and others’ use of the term “democratic socialist” is a distinction without a difference. .
“They’re trying to bring this kind of government, this way of life to the United States. That’s why I’m so opposed to it. Cuba is a good example of that. Nicaragua is a good example, Venezuela is the same… What are these governments doing?”
“You’ve seen Bernie Sanders apologizing all the time for what’s going on in Cuba. Same thing with AOC, but less so with Kamala Harris. She’s gotten a little smarter than that. But she’s to the left of Bernie Sanders, so you know she’s apologizing for these administrations. ”
“That’s the system they want to put in place in the United States.”
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (Republican) poses for a photo with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel as they arrive at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. (Juan Barretto/AFP via Getty Images)
Cuba was completely without power on Friday after a failure at the Antonio Guiteras power plant caused the power grid to collapse.
Making matters worse was Hurricane Oscar, a Category 1 storm that made landfall in Guantanamo over the weekend. By Monday, some power had been restored, mainly in the capital Havana.
Cuba’s national electricity company reported that as of Monday, only 200 megawatts of the roughly 3,000 megawatts needed to power the country were being generated. miami herald.
Jiménez said Cubans have been warned not to demonstrate against the government during the crisis, adding that dissidents are regularly imprisoned for their public expressions. .
“It’s to instill fear in the Cuban people so they don’t rebel against this dictatorship. That’s what the communist-socialist government does. They’re totally incompetent. This communist-socialist government… It’s not working, it’s not working, and it’s never going to work.”
Jimenez warned that everyone will be treated the same in the event of the current power outage or the continued suppression of free speech and protests against the government.
“They’re all miserable. Go talk to the Cuban people and see if they want a socialist system that demands freedom like we have here in the United States.”
Jimenez said that while Cuba may not have free and fair elections, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans do indeed “vote with their feet,” and are leaving their repressive countries in droves to return to the United States. He said he was moving to .
The same goes for Miami, he said.
In Tuesday’s recording, he stands on the upper floor of the Brickell City Center outdoor shopping mall above Route 41 and describes how Miami has become more authentic in the years since the Cuban emigration began after Castro. He gestured at how it had grown from a trading post to a bustling metropolis. coup d’etat.
“I think the answer is very clear, because they are already voting with their feet.”
“Part of the reason so many immigrants come here is because of these failed systems. And these people are trying to bring those failed systems and policies here to the United States.”
Cuban-American votes are key in Florida’s local and statewide elections. Miami-Dade County alone is home to more than 1 million people.
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Congressman Carlos Gimenez (R-Florida) speaks at the Cuba Freedom Rally near the White House on July 26, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
And as journalist-turned-politician Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) upset former Health and Human Services Secretary Clinton Clinton in the Kendall and Little Havana areas in 2020. , they tend to be conservative.
Looking ahead, Jiménez said the next government must put “maximum pressure” on the Díaz-Canel government, adding that humanitarian aid alone will never reach the people and will only enrich the government. Ta.
“All they understand is power. They don’t understand that you’re nice to them. You can’t do that,” he said.
If Cuba were to become a democratic government allied with the United States, it would be a blow to the United States’ other rivals, China and Russia, and would be a major threat to the geopolitically important region just 90 miles from Key West. literally no safe harbor.
“But first and foremost, [it would] give [Cubans] freedom given to them. ”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris campaign, Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Matteo Cina contributed to this report.
