Cuba protesters demand food, electricity as Rubio says nation on ‘verge of collapse’ from Marxist policies

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Protests have continued this week in Cuba over one of the island’s worst ever economic and energy crises as food shortages and blackouts push the country toward the "verge of collapse."

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio took to X on Tuesday to say the disastrous situation was down to Cuba’s long-standing Marxist policies.

"The reason Cuba is on the verge of collapse is because Marxism always leads to hunger, poverty and shortages," Rubio said.

PROTESTS ERUPT IN SANTIAGO OVER POWER OUTAGES, FOOD SHORTAGES AS CUBA FACES ECONOMIC CRISIS

The senator, an ardent critic of the Cuban regime, took to the social media platform to push back on accusations levied by the Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío, who suggested in a Monday interview with the Associated Press that the food shortages were due to the U.S.’s longstanding embargoes.

Fernández de Cossío accused the U.S. of "open interference [in] Cuba’s domestic affairs" after the State Department on Monday called on Havana to respect the protesters and "attend to the legitimate needs of the Cuban people."

"It was also cynical, as we said publicly, and hypocritical because it was referring to issues that are occurring in Cuba in which there’s an import and responsibility from the U.S. government," Fernández de Cossío said,