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Havana July 11th: Cuban security forces arrest a protester
Photo: Ernesto Mastrascusa / EPA
Because Internet access has been restricted in Cuba, little information about the protests is currently being released.
However, according to Amnesty International, at least 115 people have been arbitrarily arrested in connection with the first mass protests against the government in decades.
Among them were prominent dissidents and journalists, as the America director of the human rights organization, Erika Guevara-Rosas, wrote on Twitter on Monday.
There was reportedly a high security presence on Monday.
Videos were circulating that were supposed to show new, smaller protests.
On Sunday, thousands of people demonstrated against the economy of shortages and oppression in numerous cities of the authoritarian Caribbean state.
Among other things, they shouted "Patria y Vida" (Fatherland and Life) - the title of a protest song published in February.
This is an allusion to a much-quoted saying by Fidel Castro: "Patria o Muerte" (Fatherland or Death).
Government blames US for protests
In a TV and radio address on Monday, Cuban head of state Miguel Díaz-Canel accused Washington of pursuing a "policy of suffocating the economy" in Cuba in order to provoke "social unrest" in the country.
The government described the protests as provocations by counterrevolutionaries who were financed by the US in order to destabilize Cuba.
The people took to the streets in defense of the revolution and the "subversive acts" were defeated, reported "Granma", the newspaper of the Communist Party (PCC) - the only party allowed in Cuba.
US President Joe Biden said his administration stood by the side of Cubans who longed for freedom and an end to "decades of oppression and economic suffering."
Cuba's "authoritarian" government is responsible for this.
"The United States is calling on the Cuban regime to listen to its people and address their needs at this crucial moment rather than enrich themselves," Biden said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that it would be a "serious mistake" for Cuba to hold Washington responsible for the protests.
In his opinion, these could rather be traced back to the "mismanagement" of the communist leadership.
The EU joined US demands on Havana for freedom of expression and assembly.
"I would like to call on the government there to allow peaceful demonstrations and to listen to the protesters' dissatisfaction," said EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell.
Brazil’s right-wing extremist President Jair Bolsonaro also expressed his “solidarity” with the demonstrators who were calling for “an end to a cruel dictatorship”.
Mexico and Russia warn against outside interference
Mexico's left-wing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on the other hand, offered support to the government in Cuba.
His country can provide food, medicine and corona vaccine.
At the same time he warned against political influence by foreign governments.
Cuba's ally Russia also rejects any "outside interference" in the communist country.
Argentina and Venezuela also pledged support to Cuba's government.
Observers spoke of the largest demonstrations in Cuba in decades.
The trigger was, among other things, the lack of medicines and food.
Under the ex-President Donald Trump, the United States tightened its sanctions against Cuba.
During the pandemic, the important income from tourism is now also missing.
Recently, the number of corona infections has also increased significantly.
asc / dpa / AFP