Protests Erupt In Cuba As Thousands Take To The Streets

Anti-government protests have broken out in Cuba, as Cubans took to the streets demanding freedom and calling on the disbandment of the country’s communist dictatorship. Thousands of Cubans marched on Havana’s Malecon promenade and elsewhere to protest food shortages, high prices for gasoline, and a lack of vaccines amid the coronavirus outbreak in one of the biggest anti-government demonstrations the country has ever faced, which is a big deal in a country that outlaws demonstrations against its one-party government.

Cuban Police initially trailed behind as protesters chanted “Freedom,” “Enough” and “Unite.” According to one story, a motorcyclist pulled out a U.S. flag, but it was snatched from him by others.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who heads the Communist Party and took over from Raul Castro last year, has called on the country’s “revolutionaries” to counter the demonstrators.

“We are prepared to do anything,” he said during a national address. “We will be battling in the streets.” He continued, “We are calling on all the revolutionaries in the country, all the Communists, to hit the streets wherever there is an effort to produce these provocations.”

The Biden administration was criticized on social media for appearing to have difficulty finding its footing on how to respond to the protests. But yesterday, Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, took to Twitter to say “The U.S. supports freedom of expression and assembly across Cuba, and would strongly condemn any violence or targeting of peaceful protesters who are exercising their universal rights.”