UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal, who was born and raised in Miami by his Cuban father and Peruvian mother, condemned communism and the Cuban dictatorship in a new video posted to social media Monday.
As massive freedom protests continue in Havana, the 36-year-old athlete said he recalls hearing “horror stories” from his father, recalling his escape from communism as a 14-year-old.
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Masvidal said his father likened the Cuban dictatorship to a “killing machine,” adding that he wants to use his platform “to do what I feel is correct — what I feel like everybody should be doing — [which] is fighting against oppression, dictatorships, communism, and anything of that nature.”
“I want to shed some light on Cuba,” Masvidal said in the minute-long video, peppering his comments with explicit language. “[T]his oppression has been going on for 61 years. It’s not just because of the pandemic or it’s not just because they just ran out of medicine, because they’ve been out of medicine; they’ve been out of resources and food, because of the corrupt government, the extreme corruption over there where only a few at the top eat and everybody else just has to suffer.”
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“Those days, have to come to an end,” he added. “I think it’s time for the whole world to rally behind Cuba. Let’s go. Spread the messages online. We’ve gotta protest. We’ve gotta get together. We’ve gotta get attention.”
Moving forward, he said it’s the people’s responsibility to stand against “these corrupt governments.”
Last summer, Masvidal endorsed then-President Donald Trump’s re-election bid, saying at the time he believed the Republican’s policies were helpful toward minority communities.
“There’s a million things that need to change,” the UFC fighter said, referring to some of Trump’s policy positions. “But I see him doing more right in the sense of freedom and of my Latin people than a lot of other [people]. And for the black community, also the lowest black unemployment rates. That’s huge, man. People are forgetting about that.”
“When I talk to my mom, who came from a Latin American country, Peru, and she migrated over here, she tells me lots of things,” he continued. “And she’s not against Trump. She feels a lot of things he says are good. Some of things, she’s like, ‘I don’t like this, I don’t like that.’ But it’s not like because she likes Trump or I like Trump or something, it’s not like me and my mom stopped talking or nothing. It’s just crazy that society now is telling you if you’re a [Joe] Biden fan, well then you’re Antifa or you’re something crazy, and if you’re Trump, you hate transgenders, you hate everything. Basically, if you’re a Trump fan, you hate everything. And it’s crazy what society is coming out to.”
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Masvidal also added at the time he is eager to learn more about politics and public policy, stating he’s “always” ready to listen.
“I’d much rather listen to the oldest person in the room than some punk who just got out of college and hasn’t experienced life,” he said. “That’s the person that I’ve always been. If there’s the current world champion in the room, but there’s an ex-world champion in the room that’s in his 50s, 60s, I want to hear his stories, his thoughts, because he just has more experience in life.”