The Decomposition of Cuba's Communist RegimeMartha Bueno's organization, People 4 Cuba, smuggles food and medicine directly into the hands of suffering Cubans to help undermine an oppressive dictatorship.
ZACH WEISSMUELLER | 3.16.2022
A massive protest movement broke out in Cuba on July 11, 2021. Food, medicine, and electricity shortages exacerbated by the COVID pandemic were pushing an already desperate, oppressed, and impoverished nation to the brink of rebellion.
Demonstrators used the internet—which has only been legally available in the country since 2018—to coordinate action in large and small cities across the island.
"Freedom…I felt free. I have never experienced in my life something so spectacular and wonderful. You had to have lived it to understand," one Cuban citizen, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution from the Cuban government, told Reason.
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"I think what people don't understand is that the problem in Cuba stems from the fact that people can't do anything for themselves," says Martha Bueno, a Cuban-American activist. "You're only allowed to make money if the government says it's OK. And that's how the government throttles people. They'll throw you in jail if you decide to try and feed your family on your own."
Bueno started the group People 4 Cuba following the protests. They assemble packages of dry foods and medical supplies and then pay people $35/pound to smuggle them onto the island. They've shipped more than 800 pounds so far, but she says it's become more difficult in recent months as the Cuban government has cracked down harder on smuggled medical supplies.
"The big reason that we have to smuggle it into Cuba is because if I send it legitimately… the Cuban government will take that and then sell it in the stores," says Bueno. "I wanted people to receive it, people who needed it to be able to receive it without paying. And I especially won't help the Cuban government. I refuse to fund raise, pay for, and then give it to them so that they can sell it in the stores. I'm not that kind of girl."
In one of her most popular tweets, Bueno, an outspoken libertarian, wrote this: "When my Father was 21 he was sentenced to 6 years in prison for attempting to leave his country (Cuba). A year into his sentence my fearless mother broke him out of jail. You might want to trade your freedom for safety, but I sure as hell don't."
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Source:
https://reason.com/video/2022/03/16/the-decomposition-of-cubas-communist-regime/
