Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are facing criticism after praising Cuba communist leader Fidel Castro on what would have been his 100th birthday.
DSA candidates have been making inroads in Democratic Party primaries and some other contests around the country.
That includes State Rep. Angie Nixon’s Democratic primary victory over Alex Vindman on Tuesday.
Nixon is a DSA member. She faces U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Florida, in the November general election.
The socialist group issued a statement on Aug. 13 (Castro’s birthday), praising the late Cuban dictator, who died in 2016.
“Fidel was an organizer, a fighter, and endures as a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination for the Global South. DSA has a long history of solidarity with the Cuban people, their revolution, and their self-determination,” the DSA statement reads.
U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a naval blockade on Cuba and has cut off fuel shipments to the island, including from Venezuela after American commandos arrested and deposed Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.
The blockade has resulted in fuel shortages and power outages in Cuba, which already faced American-led economic sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, announced new American financial and economic sanctions on Cuban officials and entities
Trump, Rubio and U.S. Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez, a Republican who represents the Keys and parts of Miami, want to see regime change in Havana.
Cuba has long been a thorn in the U.S. side since the 1959 communist revolution. Cuba is 90 miles from the Florida Keys.
DSA wants the U.S. blockade of Cuba to end, calling it “genocidal.”
“DSA has a long history of solidarity with the Cuban people, their revolution, and their self-determination,” the group said in its statement on Castro.
The socialist group also calls for Rubio to be prosecuted for “crimes against humanity.”
“The Trump Administration, under the leadership of Marco Rubio, is waging an indiscriminate war against the Cuban people and killing women, children, and babies by illegally blockading critical resources from the Caribbean nation,” DSA said in the statement. “By intentionally imposing conditions calculated to kill a civilian population, Marco Rubio is leading a genocide.”
Republicans hit back at the DSA statements on Cuba, Castro and Rubio.
“Castro’s regime imprisoned political dissidents and left Cuba with bread lines, power outages, oppression, and a government that traffics its own people,” Moody said in a statement. “Turns out his revolution was just about tricking the Cuban people into giving Castro control. Angie Nixon and these radical socialists want a moment of silence for him. Shameful.”
Nixon’s campaign has not yet responded to a request for comment on the DSA statement.
But Axios reported Friday that Nixon said she does not agree with the DSA hailing of Castro.
“I do not celebrate Castro,” Nixon said, according to Axios.
Nixon, a Jacksonville area Democratic state lawmaker, does oppose Trump’s blockade and pressure campaign on Cuba.
On Thursday, David Ramírez Álvarez, Cuban diplomat with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted on social media citing comments from Nixon opposing Trump’s blockade and hardline policies.
Nixon has the backing of some top progressives, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.
Left-wing Democrats, including some socialists, have made headway in some U.S. election contests.
They have galvanized over issues such as the high costs of living and wealth disparities since the COVID-19 pandemic. Progressives and socialists also oppose U.S. military support for Israel, citing the death tolls from the war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.
Her left-wing candidacy and DSA’s policies face unique pushback in Florida, which has sizable Cuban and Venezuela communities strongly opposed to the Cuban regime and socialist governments in Caracas under Maduro and former Venezuela President Hugo Chavez.
“Fidel Castro was a complete failure at everything except destroying Cuba and impoverishing, jailing and murdering his own people,” Rubio said in a statement.
Nixon is running against Moody in the Florida U.S. Senate seat held by Rubio, before he became Trump’s Secretary of State.
“I strongly suggest that anyone tempted to try and follow his example should carefully reconsider, because if they do they would be dooming themselves to failure as well,” Rubio said.
Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez backs the new U.S. sanctions on Cuban officials as well as metals, mining and construction entities.
He also criticized the DSA’s praise for Castro and condemnations of Rubio.
Fernandez was born in Cuba and emigrated to the U.S.
“Fidel Castro was a murderous communist dictator. His legacy is not heroic. It is a legacy of firing squads, political prisoners, censorship, religious persecution, stolen property, poverty, rationing, and the forced exile of millions of Cubans,” said Fernandez
No one can lecture me about socialism or communism. Many of us, including me, fled Fidel Castro’s murderous, narco-trafficking, socialist and communist dictatorship. We did not learn about that ideology from books or political speeches. We lived it, suffered under it, and know exactly where it leads,” he said.
In a statement, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly defended Rubio and faulted the Cuban regime.
“The Cuban regime exemplifies everything that’s wrong with communism as its population suffers from food shortages, blackouts, poor standards of living, and egregious human rights abuses. Secretary Rubio wants a better future for the Cuban people, and the United States is ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our two countries. The only thing standing in the way are those who control Cuba for their own gain,” she said in a statement to the Keys Citizen.