these protests are not only about covid and food shortages in the country. they are about basic human rights. the cuban people want the freedoms that we enjoy here in the united states, and certainly president biden did capture that in his statement. >> you also, you know, can't talk about what is happening in cuba right now without talking about the sanctions that the trump administration put in place and the impact on that. there's also the question that some have been asking, you know, about why now, why at this moment. while covid and the pandemic is obviously not to blame for the entirety of these demonstrations, it does seem to be in some ways the spark that lit the match over the last 24 hours or so. >> well, certainly. covid, the food shortages, the regime's mishandling of the pandemic catalyzed these protests, but if you hear the