Lula’s Defense of Cuba Masks the Real Cost of Enabling Tyranny

At a recent gathering in Brasilia, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vocally defended Cuba, asserting that its people “are hungry because they are denied access to basic necessities.” His comments came amid heightened U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing the island's communist regime. But beneath Lula's narrative lies a dangerous dismissal of the real stakes for the Western Hemisphere and American sovereignty.Is Ideological Blindness Fueling Regional Instability?Lula implores Latin American leaders to “wake up” against what he calls submission to foreign pressures—yet conveniently overlooks how leniency toward totalitarian regimes like Havana’s only perpetuates poverty and undermines democracy across the...