The Biden administration and other prominent Democrats have been slow to respond to the ongoing protests against Cuba’s communist regime, while Republican politicians – many of them based in Florida – have sent messages of solidarity to the demonstrators.

In a statement issued Monday, 24 hours after protesters first took to the streets, the White House said it supported “the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime.

“The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights,” the statement read. “Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.”

However, as images of the unrest were carried around the world on social media Sunday, the only statement from an administration official came via a tweet from Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Julie Chung.

“Peaceful protests are growing in #Cuba as the Cuban people exercise their right to peaceful assembly to express concern about rising COVID cases/deaths & medicine shortages,” wrote Chung, who made no mention of the island’s totalitarian government. “We commend the numerous efforts of the Cuban people mobilizing donations to help neighbors in need.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki seemed to waffle Monday on the question of whether the protests were related to immediate events or if they reflected longstanding anger.

“There is every indication that yesterday’s protests were spontaneous expressions of people who are exhausted with the Cuban government’s economic mismanagement and repression and these are protests inspired by the harsh reality of everyday life in Cuba,” she said.

Psaki declined to give a direct response when asked whether the Biden administration supports protesters using the American flag as a symbol of their struggle for freedom, saying only that “the president certainly respects the symbol of the American flag” and adding that while Biden displays it at his home, he “also believes people have the right to peaceful protest.”

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the son of Cuban immigrants, did issue a statement of his own Sunday that trumpeted a “historic day of protests”.

“For decades, Cuba’s dictatorship has used violence and repression to silence its people, rather than permit the free exercise of democracy and their basic social rights,” Menendez wrote. “This must end. The world’s eyes are on Cuba tonight and the dictatorship must understand we will not tolerate the use of brute force to silence the aspirations of the Cuban people.

“As I’ve said over the years, no one wishes that the reality in Cuba was more different than the Cuban people and Cuban-Americans that have fled the island in search of freedom,” the senator added. “Let us hear their voices. Listen to their cries of desperation. Support their demands by ensuring we do not perpetuate the regime’s decades of repression.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), tweeted her support for the Cuban protesters Monday, saying: “The call for freedom and basic rights by the people of Cuba peacefully taking to the streets and marching is an act of great courage. I support the Cuban people in their pursuit of liberty and condemn any violence or targeting of those exercising their rights.”

Two of the most prominent socialist members of Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), had yet to make any comment on the situation as of Monday afternoon. Sanders caused outrage while running for president in February of 2020 when he told “60 Minutes” that it was “unfair to simply say everything is bad” about the Cuban regime.

“When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program,” Sanders said. “Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?”

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump said in a statement Monday that “I stand with the Cuban people 100% in their fight for freedom.

“The Government must let them speak and be free!” Trump added. “Joe Biden MUST stand up to the Communist regime or—history will remember. The Cuban people deserve freedom and human rights!  THEY ARE NOT AFRAID!

The 45th president also said that “Biden and the Democrats campaigned on reversing my very tough stance on Cuba. Remember when Obama attended baseball games with Castros while they imprisoned, beat, and killed the Cuban people.”

Other Republican lawmakers spend Sunday cheering on the protesters and criticizing the Biden administration’s relative silence.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) blasted Chung’s statement as “ridiculous.”

“People in #Cuba are protesting 62 years of socialism, lies, tyranny & misery not expressing concern about rising COVID cases/deaths’,” he tweeted. “Why is it so hard for [Biden] & the people in his administration to say that?”

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), also put Chung on blast.

“No they’re chanting LIBERTAD,” he said. “Stop playing cover for communists and support the Cuban people. My god. Why is that so hard for you?”

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, reacting to massive anti-Havana demonstrations in that city, tweeted that “I have never felt such raw emotion from the people of Miami desperate for intervention by the government and by themselves on behalf of Cuba.  This is the moment for freedom in Cuba.  IT CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER!”

In an earlier tweet, Suarez posted an image of himself speaking at one of the Miami demonstrations and added: “The Cuban regime’s military police are shooting at unarmed Cuban protestors fighting for freedom. 60 years of communism, cruelty, & oppression cannot last any longer! We are imploring the USA to take action as we peacefully demonstrate on the streets of Miami.” Suarez added the hashtag “PATRIAYVIDA” (“Homeland and life”), the rallying cry of the protesters

“The United States needs to stand firm with the brave Cuban people as they protest the Castro regime and its years of oppression and communism,” Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) told the Post. “Instead of ignorantly blaming the protests on COVID as some Administration officials have, Joe Biden needs to be vocal in support and take action as they fight for freedom, opportunity and liberty.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) tweeted: “After decades of suffering through a communist dictatorship, the Cuban people deserve liberty. I am proud to stand in solidarity with the people of Cuba who are calling out for freedom.”

Cuba President Miguel Díaz-Canel alleged Monday that the protests were stirred up on social media by Cuban-Americans in the US.

As of Monday, Cuban authorities were blocking Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram in an apparent response to the protest, according to Alp Toker, director of Netblocks, a London-based internet monitoring firm. Twitter did not appear to be blocked, though Toker noted Cuba has the ability to cut it off if it wants to.

With Post Wires