Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, whose parents fled from Cuba, made a bold statement this Friday urging for the elimination of Cuba’s communist regime. She cited the regime as a threat to U.S. national security and criticized its long-standing oppression of the Cuban people.
Malliotakis highlighted, “For decades, Cuba has harbored our adversaries, terrorist groups, and criminals like cop killer Joanne Chesimard. The regime has facilitated Russia, China, and Iran in establishing military and intelligence footholds within our hemisphere,” she stated on her official X account, @RepNicole.
Representing New York in the House of Representatives, Malliotakis further expressed that the regime has committed atrocities such as murder and imprisonment against its citizens, seizing properties, which her own family experienced when their home and small business were confiscated.
She concluded by asserting, “For the sake of our national security and for the Cuban people, the murderous communist regime must be removed. Long live a Free Cuba!” echoing a historical mantra of the Cuban exile community in Miami.
Malliotakis’ remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Havana released a fact sheet outlining President Donald Trump’s new measures to counteract “threats from the Cuban government” in the region.
On Thursday, Trump enacted a new executive order targeting governments and companies conducting business with Cuba's military conglomerate, GAESA. The order also threatened to increase tariffs on those supplying oil to the island, bolstering pressure led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Amidst rising global isolation of the Castro regime, Washington reaffirms its mission to “free the Cuban people from the grip of a criminal dictatorship that has spread oppression, espionage, and misery across the region.”
Insights on U.S. Policy Toward Cuba
Why does Nicole Malliotakis believe the Cuban regime is a threat?
Malliotakis views the Cuban regime as a threat due to its history of harboring adversaries, terrorist groups, and fugitives, and facilitating the military presence of nations like Russia, China, and Iran in the Western Hemisphere.
What actions has President Trump taken against the Cuban regime?
President Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on entities trading with Cuba's military conglomerate GAESA and threatened to increase tariffs on oil shipments to the island.
How does the U.S. aim to support the Cuban people?
The U.S. aims to support the Cuban people by liberating them from the control of the communist regime, which is accused of spreading oppression and misery throughout the region.