I'm Cuban. I was born in Cuba, and I lived there until I moved to the U.S. when I was 17.

I don't like politics, but I was hoping that, as someone who lived in Cuba until 4 years ago, you would hear me out.

It's not the U.S.'s fault

Cuba has lived under communism for over 60 years. When Fidel Castro took over Cuba, he also "nationalized" (robbed) every business owned by foreigners. This caused the U.S. sanctions on Cuba.

These sanctions don't mean much. Cuba can still trade, cultivate, and do many things with other countries that aren't part of this, like China and Russia.

And they do, but nothing goes to the people. The government keeps everything to themselves.

Censorship

Speaking about the government in Cuba will get you arrested. Freedom of speech is non-existent. People have been arrested, shot at, and many other things just for protesting.

The network is run by one state-owned company in Cuba called ETECSA. When protests are happening inside Cuba, ETECSA shuts down the network and makes it unusable so no one can post anything about what's happening.

Electricity and water

Cuba's electricity and water problems did not start after the oil blockade. These problems have been happening for years.

Before I left Cuba, electricity would go out for 4, 8, 10, or even more hours, and then come back for only 2 or 4 hours.

Water would also sometimes go out. Note that this has been happening for years, not just now.

Special Period / Período Especial

This was in the 90s, which was an economic crisis in Cuba where people had almost nothing to eat or drink.

People were starving, dying, and had nothing.

Why? Because of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Cuba was relying on the Soviet Union, for everything.

Trump's "takeover" of Cuba

If you ask a Cuban in the U.S., Cuba, or many other countries, many will support a future takeover of Cuba.

If a Cuban says they want Cuba to stay with the same government, they've never lived under communism, or they are brainwashed. They've never experienced what I experienced.

I still have family in Cuba, and I very much hope this happens. Even though I don't like Donald Trump myself, I just want to see my country be free.

Conclusion

I made this post because I saw people having wrong opinions about what really happens inside Cuba, and it really hurts to see people think the Cuban government has done nothing wrong.