Speaking to reporters from Havana Monday afternoon, White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes justified the imprisonment of dozens of Cuban dissidents by the Castro regime.
.@rhodes44 says Cuba views political prisoners as having broken criminal laws in Cuba. pic.twitter.com/7bBr7w1m3w
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 21, 2016
By making this statement, Rhodes is essentially justifying human rights abuses in a country with which President Obama claims to have "normalized" relations. In Cuba, citizens are beaten and imprisoned for simply criticizing the government, do not have access to the internet or social media outlets like Twitter and practicing journalism is considered an illegal act.
Yesterday during a joint press conference with President Obama, Dictator Raul Castro denied the regime had imprisoned any dissidents.
"What political prisoners? Give me a name? Give me a list?" Castro said, ending the press conference. "It's not correct to ask me about political prisoners. This is enough."
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