First of all, we would never come to Canada's government or commission to ask for direct help for regime change in Cuba. We are cognizant that the transition to a democratic island is the responsibility of us Cubans. I would like to correct, if I may, that it is the responsibility of Cubans not only in Cuba.
We have been in exile. There are three million of us who have been forced off the island, and there are a large number of us who are prohibited right now from disembarking from a plane in Cuba should we wish to buy a ticket and go to Cuba. Whatever we are is our responsibility
We are working in creating alliances. We are working in holding bilateral engagement and multinational engagement with many governments, as Ms. Barrero was saying. We will be free. It's not a matter of reaching out to other governments.
What we would like is for Canada to stop propping up the regime. The highlight I made is that it's hard for us Cubans to liberate ourselves when we are against a tyrannical regime and against mainstream media, which keeps portraying what's not going on in the island. We have democratic nations sending billions and billions of dollars for decade after decade, so it's hard for a people to liberate itself like that.
As I was saying, on July 11, in over 49 cities in Cuba, hundreds of thousands of Cubans took to the street to make peaceful demands. Some of them were demanding basic essentials, but some of them were demanding freedom and democracy, which is what we need.
How did the regime respond to that? It deployed the armed forces. They shot Diubis Laurencio, and he lost his life. We have a criminal regime that deploys the armed forces against the civilian population. Yes, we also beg the democracies to at least not fund them. At least start by not funding them. Start by applying sanctions. Why not?