\u201cI unequivocally condemn the mass detentions and sham trials,\u201d Biden said in a statement.<\/b>
\nPresident Joe Biden on Thursday sanctioned a Cuban official and a military special forces unit in response to the regime\u2019s crackdown on protesters who led mass demonstrations against the government over chronic medicine and food shortages earlier this month. \u201cI unequivocally condemn the mass detentions and sham trials that are unjustly sentencing to prison those who dared to speak out in an effort to intimidate and threaten the Cuban people into silence,\u201d Biden said. Demonstrators poured into the streets in more than 40 cities across the country on July 11 and 12 to protest the nation\u2019s deteriorating living conditions. Cubans have faced intermittent power outages, and a scarcity of basic goods. Hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested, and the Cuban government has promised to levy disorder and disobedience charges against those who engaged in violence or vandalism. Biden faced pressure from Democrats and Republicans in Florida to retaliate against the Cuban regime following the crackdown on protesters. However, the uprising has put Biden in a difficult position within his party, as some progressives want the president to reverse former President Donald Trump\u2019s sanctions on the island. Trump initiated sanctions against Cuba in 2017 in a stark reversal to the steps taken by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, to normalize relations with the country. The Cuban government has since blamed Trump\u2019s sanctions for the island\u2019s economic troubles, and Biden has kept the sanctions in place. Experts say the Trump sanctions have played a part in the country’s economic woes, along with the pandemic and the reduced support from Venezuela, which has traditionally supplied cheap oil to the island. Some Republicans have used the crisis as a moment to attack Biden for wavering in his support for the protesters. On Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), a possible 2024 GOP presidential candidate, accused Biden of \u201cbasically…doing nothing\u201d to help the Cuban protesters in an interview with Fox News\u2019 Sean Hannity. Hannity, who hosted his show from Miami, slammed Biden for exhibiting \u201cgreat cowardice\u201d towards Cuba, going as far to question, \u201cWhat is the Biden doctrine? To kiss the ass of every single, solitary dictator in the world?\u201d Biden added his administration would work towards restaffing the U.S. embassy in Havana \u201cto provide consular services to Cubans and enhance our ability to engage with civil society, while ensuring the safety of U.S. diplomats serving in Cuba.\u201d In 2016, the U.S. scaled back presence at the embassy after multiple officials complained of so-called \u201cHavana Syndrome,\u201d a strange, unexplained medical condition that involved dizziness and headaches. Last year, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said the \u201cmost plausible\u201d explanation\u201d is microwave radiation and officials have suggested the condition is the result of an international attack.<\/p>\n