MIAMI, July 1, 2022 /CNW/ -

FACTS

• Over 40% of all visitors to Cuba are Canadians.
• Cuba is the third most travelled destination abroad for Canadians.
• Most hotels and resorts visited by Canadians in Cuba are owned by a military-run conglomerate called GAESA.
• 80 – 90% of the tourist dollars brought to Cuba go to funding the regime's armed forces.
• Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Cuba is valued at over one billion dollars annually.
• Canadian companies have significant investments in mining, power, oil and gas, agri-food, and tourism.
• In 63 years of communist dictatorship in Cuba, more than 10% of the population (about two million people) have fled the island due to repression and lack of freedoms at tremendous personal cost.
• Today, unions in Cuba are regime-run front organizations. The Communist Party controls nearly every aspect of the movement, with very few independent unions.
• In the 63 years since the Revolution, unions have not organized a single strike against the regime.
• Cuba remains the most restrictive country for journalists in Latin America.
• Any privately-owned press is prohibited, with all information coming from government sources.
• The regime controls the internet in the country.

BACKGROUND

On July 11, 2021, spontaneous non-violent protests broke out across Cuba. Hundreds of thousands of people cheering "Libertad" took to the streets in response to the country's worsening state of human rights. In response, the government engaged in indiscriminate mass arrests, sentencing some protestors to nearly two decades in prison. In recent weeks student protests have taken over the island with increasing calls for a free society.

SOURCE Torchia Communications

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2022/01/c8730.html