First off, if you need to know anything about Cuba, please follow my friend Frances Martel. Her family came from Cuba. She is an expert.
Cubans marched in Havana against the Communist regime, demanding more food and access to COVID-19 vaccines. They also protested against the high prices during the pandemic. From The Miami Herald:
From the Malecón, Havana’s famous seawall near the old city, to small towns in Artemisa province and Palma Soriano, the second-largest city in Santiago de Cuba province, videos live-streamed on Facebook showed thousands of people walking and riding bikes and motorcycles along streets while chanting “Freedom!” “Down with Communism!” and “Patria y Vida” — Homeland and Life — which has become a battle cry among activists after a viral music video turned the revolutionary slogan “Homeland or Death” on its head.“We are not afraid!” chanted Samantha Regalado while she recorded hundreds of people walking along a narrow street in Palma Soriano.During the day, protests erupted in several cities, including the island’s biggest — Havana, Santiago, Santa Clara, Matanzas, Cienfuegos and Holguín — but also in smaller towns like Palma Soriano, Cárdenas, Colón, Guira de Melena, Artemisa and others. Inventario, a website specializing in Cuban data, tracked at least 25 protests in different locations throughout the island.
President Joe Biden’s administration claims the Cubans protested strictly over COVID-19.
The protesters want access to COVID-19 vaccines. They also want to end the brutal regime, eat, and have freedom.
The Communist regime does not recognize a person’s natural born rights. They cannot protest or assemble peacefully in Cuba.
But I guess this is not a shock since President Barack Obama’s administration started the normalization of relations with Cuba without mentioning numerous human rights violations.
The protesters shouted, “Down with [Cuband leader Miguel] Díaz-Canel.” Frances wants everyone to remember:
Díaz-Canel blamed America:
In an impromptu televised address later in the afternoon, Díaz-Canel blamed the protests on U.S. efforts to tighten the embargo, with the alleged intention to “provoke a social uprising” that would justify a military intervention.Visibly upset and raising his voice, the Cuban leader warned that protesters would face a strong response and called “all revolutionaries” to confront them on the streets “with firmness and courage.”“We are not going to hand over the sovereignty or the independence of the people,” he said. “There are many revolutionaries in this country who are willing to give our lives, we are willing to do anything, and we will be in the streets fighting.”
Sunday’s protests are not the first time Cubans rose up against the Communist regime.
The last time happened in 1994 against then-dictator Fidel Castro. It mainly took place in Havana but did not last a long time. Castro opened up the maritime borders, which led to an exodus. You can read more about the tragedy on July 13, 1994, at the Free Cuba Foundation. 72 people attempted to leave on a makeshift tugboat. Cuban forces sank the boat and killed 37 people, including 11 children.
Protests happened before 1994, too.
Maybe this time it will change. Thankfully, Cubans posted videos and photos on the internet. It sounds like the regime has shut down the internet on the island.
Here are a few images circulating on social media.
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