Canadian Member of Parliament Stephanie Kusie visited South Florida where she met with leaders of the Cuban exile community and said “it’s time to stop romanticizing this dictatorship.” Kusie stands in sharp contrast to the Trudeau administration, which continues Canada’s long-standing policy of coddling, protecting, and funding the communist Castro dictatorship.
Via Diario de Cuba (my translation):
‘It’s time to stop romanticizing this dictatorship,’ says Canadian MP after meeting with Cuban exiles
Canadian MP Stephanie Kusie has joined the diplomatic offensive that the Assembly of Cuban Resistance (ARC) has been conducting since late 2022 to condemn the Cuban regime, as reported by Diario Las Américas.
The legislator met with representatives of Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan exile communities in Miami. She expressed her party’s support (Conservative Party of Canada) for democracy and human rights in the region.
Kusie, the first elected official from Canada to travel to Miami to meet with ARC activists, stated, “Canadians believe in democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.” The Canadian lawmaker’s visit comes after the ARC requested in November 2023 that the Government of Canada cease funding allocation to Havana, which is used for further repression on the island.
The legislator said, “We must work to educate Canadians about the difference between Cuban culture, which many of us appreciate and enjoy, and the regime. It is time to stop romanticizing this dictatorship and recognize the reality of what is really happening in Cuba. I have good news for Cubans. They can expect more support from their Canadian friends.”
In June 2023, a delegation led by the coordinator of the ARC, Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, visited Canada and called for an end to subsidies to the regime led by Miguel Díaz-Canel. During her visit to Miami, Kusie also met with US Congresswoman of Cuban origin, María Elvira Salazar.
Both legislators discussed possible areas of collaboration in the coming years and emphasized the diversion of Canadian public funds to branches of the communist regime in Cuba.
Kusie has served in various international roles. She served in Argentina in 2006 and was Consul of Canada in El Salvador between 2006 and 2008. From 2010 to 2013, she served as Consul of Canada in Dallas, Texas.
Since 2022, ARC, which brings together 54 organizations for democracy and respect for human rights in Cuba, has been campaigning to prevent Canada and the European community from continuing to support the Cuban regime with funds allocated to programs that deviate from the agreed upon objectives.
Thanks to ARC’s international efforts, the Swedish Government formally requested in November 2023 the review of the Agreement on Political Dialogue and Cooperation (PDCA) between the European Union (EU) and Havana, taking into account “serious violations” of human rights in Cuba.
ARC has been officially received in the national congresses of Peru, the Dominican Republic, Sweden, Lithuania, Canada, and Costa Rica, in addition to holding meetings of representatives of that organization with legislators, political leaders, and activists from more than ten countries.
There are, of course, decent Canadians, just as there are decent “Latins,” but for practical purposes, what matters is which Canadians and which “Latins” are the dominant element, and we all know which ones.