Canada's Trudeau says Cubans deserve democracy after crackdown on protesters

Canada, one of Cuba's closest Western allies, on Thursday condemned the violent response and arrests of protesters this weekend by the Cuban government, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying the people in the country deserve democracy and freedom. "We are deeply concerned by the violent crackdown on protests by the Cuban regime," Trudeau said at a news conference in Montreal, in one of his few comments on Cuba in recent years.

Canada, one of Cuba's closest Western allies, on Thursday condemned the violent response and arrests of protesters this weekend by the Cuban government, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying the people in the country deserve democracy and freedom.

"We are deeply concerned by the violent crackdown on protests by the Cuban regime," Trudeau said at a news conference in Montreal, in one of his few comments on Cuba in recent years. "We stand with the people of Cuba who want – and deserve - democracy, freedom, and respect."

Canada maintained ties with Cuba after its 1959 revolution, and Trudeau paid an official visit to the island in November of 2016. That has meant that Canada has sometimes acted as a go-between with the Cuban government and the United States and other countries on issues such as the disputed elections in Venezuela. On Sunday, thousands of Cubans staged the biggest anti-government protests in decades to protest against a deep economic crisis that has seen shortages of basic goods and power outages. They were also protesting against the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and curbs on civil liberties.

Trudeau's first state visit to Cuba happened when he was four years old and accompanied his father, Pierre, who was then prime minister.

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