Video emerges of mass protests against communist dictatorship in Cuba: 'We are not afraid'

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Thousands of Cuban protesters have taken to the streets demanding an end to the country's communist dictatorship. 

U.S. officials on both sides of the political aisle issued statements on social media expressing their support of the demonstrations and expressed solidarity with the people of Cuba. They also shared footage, where protestors can be heard chanting "we are not afraid."

According to Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, Cuba's regime is shutting off internet on the island.

"The Castro dictatorship doesn’t want the world to see what’s happening," Salazar wrote. "Please SHARE & stand with these freedom fighters!"

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called out the mainstream media for refusing to provide extensive coverage on the unrest in Cuba. 

"Attention US media … in #Cuba they are rising up because socialism is (always a) disaster," Rubio tweeted. "Are you going to report on this so the world can hear their voices?" 

Rubio then urged President Joe Biden and Secretary Anthony Blinken to call on members of the Cuban military to not fire on their own people. 

"The incompetent communist party of #Cuba cannot feed or protest the people from the virus," Rubio wrote. "Now those in the military must defend the people not the communist party." 

Rubio also slammed Twitter for suggesting that the mass protests were about raising COVID "awareness" in the country." 

"(Twitter) Ignores (that) this is really about how socialism is a disaster & always leads to tyranny, despair & suffering," Rubio wrote, sharing a screenshot of "#SOSCuba" trending on Twitter. 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeted that the "Communist Cuban regime will be consigned to the dustbin of history. It has brutalized & denied freedom to generations of Cubans, and forced my family & so many others to flee. The American people stand squarely with the men & women of Cuba and their noble fight for liberty." 

Florida U.S. Reps. Carlos A. Gimenez, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Maria Elvira Salazar, issued a joint statement in support of the protests in Cuba. 

"Now more than ever, the United States and the international community must support the Cuban people in their struggle for freedom. The humanitarian crisis Cuba faces right now is yet another symptom of the incompetence and absolute cruelty of the Cuban tyranny," the statement said. "We know what freedom means for the Cuban people, and now, while the regime uses savage violence against the people peacefully demonstrating in the streets, the world has the obligation to stand with the brave Cuban people."

Meanwhile, demonstrations of solidarity with the Cuban protesters broke out a Cuban embassy in Argentina, and in Miami, where there is a sizable population of Cuban immigrants and descendants. 

Gelet Fragela, who runs the Miami-based Cuban news outlet ADN Cuba, told Fox News that the country has been clamping down on its media – including for ADN – for months leading up to the protests. 

"Cuba, just like the Soviet Union, is an organized totalitarian regime that creates a false reality and sends that to the world," Fragela said.  

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She said that Cuba has sent around 30,000 of its own doctors around the world, while neglecting the medical care needs of its own people at home. 

"I wouldn't say this is a protest because of the lack of COVID vaccines, I think this is a protest for the people of Cuba asking for the regime to end once and for all after more than 60 years of repression," Fragela said. 

Lucas Manfredi contributed to this report.

Fox News' Lucas Manfredi contributed to this report.