Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THOUSANDS OF CUBANS have marched on Havana’s Malecon promenade to protest food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis in one of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in memory.
Many young people took part in the afternoon protest in the capital, which disrupted traffic until police moved in after several hours and broke up the march when a few protesters threw rocks.
Police initially trailed behind as protesters chanted “freedom”, “enough” and “unite”. One motorcyclist pulled out a US flag, but it was snatched from him by others.
One protester told The Associated Press: “We are fed up with the queues, the shortages. That’s why I’m here.” He declined to identify himself for fear of being arrested later.
Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, along with a resurgence of coronavirus cases, as it suffers the consequences of US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
An official in the Biden administration tweeted support for yesterday’s demonstrations.
Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary for state for Western Hemisphere affairs, wrote on Twitter: “Peaceful protests are growing in #Cuba as the Cuban people exercise their right to peaceful assembly to express concern about rising COVID cases/deaths & medicine shortages.
“We commend the numerous efforts of the Cuban people mobilizing donations to help neighbors in need.”
Cuba’s director general for US affairs, Carlos de Cossio, dismissed her remarks in his own tweet: “US State Department and its officials, involved to their necks in promoting social and political instability in #Cuba, should avoid expressing hypocritical concern for a situation they have been betting on.
“Cuba is and will continue to be a peaceful country, contrary to the US.”
The demonstration grew to a few thousand in the vicinity of Galeano Avenue and the marchers pressed on despite a few charges by police officers and tear gas barrages.
People standing on many balconies along the central artery in the Centro Habana neighbourhood applauded the protesters passing by. Others joined in the march.
Although many people tried to take out their cellphones and broadcast the protest live, Cuban authorities shut down internet service throughout the afternoon.
About two-and-a-half hours into the march, some protesters pulled up cobblestones and threw them at police, at which point officers began arresting people and the marchers dispersed.
AP journalists counted at least 20 people who were taken away in police cars or by individuals in civilian clothes.
About 300 people close to the government then arrived with a large Cuban flag shouting slogans in favour of the late President Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution.
Some people from the group assaulted an AP video journalist, disabling his camera, while an AP photojournalist was injured by the police.
Demonstrations were also held elsewhere on the island, including the small town of San Antonio de los Banos, where people protested power outages and were visited by President Miguel Diaz-Canel. He entered a few homes, where he took questions from residents.
Afterward, though, he accused “the Cuban-American mafia” of stirring up trouble.
Diaz-Canel told reporters: “As if pandemic outbreaks had not existed all over the world, the Cuban-American mafia, paying very well on social networks to influencers and Youtubers, has created a whole campaign … and has called for demonstrations across the country.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
That’s funny because the videos I’ve seen have shown tens of thousands of Cubans marching in support of their leaders and to end the American Blockade, yet you show a report on a very small CIA organised march that shows people waving American flags for freedom. The Cuban people don’t want to be freed by the USA, they want to be free from the USA…………end the blockade!!!!
@Bennasi84: exactly, they don’t show that or the journal doesn’t write about that only their own agenda
@Anthony Hilton: strange modern alliance between wokeness and imperialism.
@Bennasi84: If the protests against the regime in Cuba were as small as you say and dwarfed by the counter protests of those supporting the communist party then why did they shut down the internet service to the entire country?
Cubans are sick of communism, end of story. Despite the strong possibility of being ‘disappeared’ by the Castro regime they are still protesting. That takes guts and you should have the decency to acknowledge that.
Your dislike for the USA does not change reality.
@Bennasi84: Ireland could always trade with Cuba. Why don’t we?
Trump isn’t the one that imposed US sanctions on Cuba. Can the Journal please not spread fake news. The sanctions have been there for more than 50 years (Obama didn’t remove the sanctions, he might have loosened one or two on a long lost of sanctions).
@Goran Josifov: Trump declares economic war on Cuba, April 2019
@David Hughes: Kennedy imposes blockade on Cuba, 1962
We need to send Daly and Wallace on an all expenses paid junket to Cuba to get to the bottom of it?
The USA won’t rest until Cuba is free like Haiti and back under US control.
@Bramley Hawthorne: Haiti is not under US control….how did you work that out?
@Bramley Hawthorne: Cuban-Americans won’t rest until communism leaves Cuba. FTFY.
Oh dear —and I thought that Cuba was as near to utopia as you could get!
@John Mc Donagh: Utopia? From Wikipedia. “The US promoted and backed Batista who aligned with the wealthiest landowners that owned the largest sugar plantations, and presided over a stagnating economy that widened the gap between rich and poor Cubans. Eventually it reached the point where most of the sugar industry was in U.S. hands, and foreigners owned 70% of the arable land. As such, Batista’s repressive government then began to systematically profit from the exploitation of Cuba’s commercial interests, by negotiating lucrative relationships both with the American Mafia, who controlled the drug, gambling, and prostitution businesses in Havana, and with large U.S.-based multinational companies who were awarded lucrative contracts which had the being sanctioned for over 50 years”.
@Kieran Woods: —–And then the U.S. pulled out because of Batista’s appaling Human Rights record and then anothe gang of unscrupulous gangsters with the backing of Khrueschof tokk over with a Human Rights record that surpassed Batestas’ and left every body except the very top echelons living in poverty and under the absolute control of one Marxist Stalinist family for more than 50 years.
Food prices are going up everywhere including Ireland and the USA. Shortages are caused by production lines being shut down. Its not that easy to get them up and running again.
have your say