Since Sunday, Cubans have been protesting in numerous cities against the economy of scarcity and for more freedom.
Thousands of people are said to have been arrested since then - some with the use of force.
Havana - Three days after the anti-government demonstrations began in Cuba, thousands of people have now been arrested, according to independent journalists.
More than 120 activists and journalists were among the more than 5,000 arrested, reported the online portal 14ymedio, which had collected reports from the population. Some of the security forces acted brutally, as can be seen, among other things, in a video whose authenticity was confirmed by the human rights organization Human Rights Watch.
The video shows how security forces in the town of Cárdenas try to break into an apartment through the front entrance, while inside a woman with a small child in her arms yells “my children!” And “why are you doing this?”.
Then an officer comes into the apartment from the other direction with a raised pistol.
A part of the video, apparently recorded later, shows a pool of blood on the floor.
The online portal "CiberCuba" reported that the woman's husband was shot, beaten and taken away in front of his family.
Thousands protest - one dead
State media reported on Tuesday of a death in a demonstration in Havana on Monday.
The 36-year-old criminal tried to attack a police station as part of an "organized group of anti-social and criminal elements".
There was no information about the circumstances of his death.
On Sunday, thousands of Cubans demonstrated in numerous cities for freedom, against oppression and an economy of shortage.
There had been no such protests in the Caribbean country for decades.
Cuba's economy is suffering heavily from the slump in tourism in the pandemic as well as from US sanctions.
There is also no aid from Venezuela, as the allied state itself is in a crisis.
There is a shortage of food and medicine in Cuba.
The number of corona infections and deaths has also increased significantly recently.
dpa