15,000 Cubans Protesting US PoliciesMore than 15,000 Cubans Saturday demonstrated against the US policy toward Cuba in the central municipality of Florencia, 460 kilometers east of Havana.Arguments advocating for the end of the U.S. economic embargo were heard during the event, which was led by the first Cuban Vice-President Raul Castro. They also criticized the Helms-Burton and Torricelli laws and the Cuban Adjustment Act. Demonstrators said that the Cuban Adjustment Act encourages illegal emigration from the island, which causes the death toll of many people during their trips from Cuba to the United States. The speeches alternated during the protest demonstrations with music and dance performances. The US Congress imposed sanctions on Cuba in the hopes of ousting Cuban President Fidel Castro, who led the Communists to power on the island in 1959. Under the 1994 and 1995 immigration accords between the two countries, 20,000 Cubans are allowed to immigrate to the United States legally. In line with those accords, the Cubans trying to enter the United States illegally who are intercepted at sea must be returned to Cuba. But unlike other illegal immigrants, the Cubans who manage to evade the Coast Guard and reach US shores are allowed to seek legal residency and work permits under the Cuban Adjustment Act passed in 1966. |
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