During Sunday evening’s episode of 60 Minutes on CBS, Anderson Cooper played a clip from the 1980s showing Sanders discussing some elements of Castro’s regime. “Here he is explaining why the Cuban people didn’t rise up and help the U.S. overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro,” Cooper said, before playing the video. “He educated their kids, gave them health care, totally transformed the society,” a younger Sanders said in the clip.
When asked to respond, the progressive Democratic presidential candidate said, “We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba, but you know, it’s unfair to simply say everything is bad. You know? When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?”
Sanders’ remarks quickly drew heavy fire from Republicans, who accused the senator of praising Castro’s authoritarian regime. Although Sanders asserted that he “opposed” the authoritarian regime, some Democratic lawmakers from Florida also condemned the senator for praising elements of Castro’s regime.
In a tweet Monday, Florida Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell called Sanders’ remarks “absolutely unacceptable.”
“As the first South American immigrant member of Congress who proudly represents thousands of Cuban Americans, I find Senator Bernie Sanders’ comments on Castro’s Cuba absolutely unacceptable,” she wrote. “The Castro regime murdered and jailed dissidents, and caused unspeakable harm to too many South Florida families. To this day, it remains an authoritarian regime that oppresses its people, subverts the free press, and stifles a free society.”
Florida Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy denounced Sanders’ comments as “insulting to thousands of Floridians.” “Whether the subject is Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Israel or other foreign policy challenges, @SenSanders has consistently taken positions that are wrong on the merits and will alienate many Florida voters now and in the general election if he is nominated,” she tweeted.
Her fellow Florida Democratic congresswoman, Donna Shalala, also condemned Sanders. “I’m hoping that in the future, Senator Sanders will take time to speak to some of my constituents before he decides to sing the praises of a murderous tyrant like Fidel Castro,” she tweeted.
The criticism from Florida Democrats demonstrates their fears that Sanders’ comments could effectively alienate voters in the swing state, which contains a large population of Cuban-Americans.
Two 2020 Democratic candidates, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Vice President Joe Biden, also slammed the progressive candidate, who recently won the Nevada caucuses by a large margin.
“Fidel Castro left a dark legacy of forced labor camps, religious repression, widespread poverty, firing squads, and the murder of thousands of his own people,” Bloomberg’s campaign tweeted. “But sure, Bernie, let’s talk about his literacy program.”
In a statement, Cristóbal Alex, an Biden campaign adviser, called Sanders’ “willingness to look past Cuba’s human rights violations… not just dangerous… [but also] deeply offensive to the many people of Florida, New Jersey, and across the country that have fled political persecution and sought refuge in the United States.”
Newsweek reached out to Sanders’ campaign.
