President Joe Biden on Monday said the Cuban communist regime should respect the rights of its people amid historic demonstrations, coming a day after thousands of protesters took to the streets in several cities demanding greater freedoms and an end to the regime. “The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves,” he added. Thousands took to the streets in parts of Havana—and other cities—including the capital’s historic center, their shouts of “Diaz-Canel step down” and calling for freedom, referring to dictator and Communist Party chief Miguel Diaz-Canel. Special forces jeeps, with machine guns mounted on …