Cubans are fleeing the island in record numbers 1:32
(CNN Spanish) --
The protests in Cuba are one year old.
Desperate for the economic, health and food instability on the island, Cuban citizens connected to mobile networks and organized demonstrations for July 11, 2021.
The demonstrations took place in San Antonio de los Baños and were also held in protest of electricity cuts in the sweltering summer heat, after months of frustration over shortages and restrictions related to the covid-19 pandemic. 19, and also called for the resignation of President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The protests quickly spread throughout the island, with Cubans openly challenging the communist government - which blames Cuba's economic problems on US sanctions - in a way not seen since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959.
The protests marked a before and after in the history of the island for many Cubans: hundreds were accused for their participation in them and thousands who left their country.
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Here is a summary of what has happened in Cuba since the July 11 demonstrations.
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15N, attempt of new protests
On Monday, November 15 (15N), Cuban activists wanted to march asking for rights for the people, release of political prisoners, among other things.
They also said that they are also harassed for their activism and complained of being followed by state security agents dressed in civilian clothes and of receiving threats from government officials.
However, the Cuban security forces and supporters of the Government stopped the protest attempts with arrests and siege against the demonstrators.
The Cuban police arrested 11 people, while government agents and sympathizers "besieged" another 50 inside their homes to prevent the opposition protests from taking place on November 15, the organization confirmed to CNN at the time. independent human rights Cubalex, based in Havana.
That day, the CNN team in Havana drove through the city, reporting a heavy police presence and reporting that there were no protests during the day.
Young Cuban narrates to CNN how a group of people tried to prohibit him from demonstrating against the arrest of a relative
The 15N abroad
Although the protest attempts in Cuba were frustrated, there were demonstrations by Cubans in other parts of the world.
Opposition-aligned protests took place in several major cities internationally, most notably Miami, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Mexico City, Rome, and Montevideo.
CNN footage showed supporters in each city holding the Cuban flag and signs reading "homeland and life."
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Cubans residing in the Dominican Republic demonstrate in support of the Cuban opposition in front of the José Martí Park in Santo Domingo.
There were demonstrations in various cities around the world.
Look at this gallery with images of the day.
(Photo: ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP via Getty Images)
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An image of the Cuban protests in the Dominican Republic.
The Cuban opposition took to the streets this Monday to demand the release of political prisoners.
(Photo: ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP via Getty Images)
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In the Dominican Republic, dozens of Cubans came out to protest against the island's government.
(Photo: ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP via Getty Images)
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A protester is arrested in the El Quijote park in Havana.
In all, Cuban police arrested 11 people, while government agents and supporters "besieged" another 50 inside their homes to prevent planned opposition protests from taking place on Monday (Photo: YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
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A group of Cubans residing in Mexico demonstrates in support of the Cuban opposition, in front of the Cuban embassy in Mexico City.
(Photo: RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP via Getty Images)
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In Mexico, a protester holds a sign with a legend that accuses the Cuban government of being a dictatorship.
(Photo: RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP via Getty Images)
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The protests took place in several countries around the world, such as the Dominican Republic, where a group of protesters gathered in front of the José Martí monument in Santo Domingo.
(Photo: ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP via Getty Images)
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In Mexico, demonstrators hold posters with the images of opponents detained in Cuba.
The island government prevented the protests and arrested several people.
(Photo: RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP via Getty Images)
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A flag demanding the freedom of several political prisoners is displayed by protesters in Mexico City, during a protest against the Cuban government.
(Photo: RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Police vehicles circulate along El Paseo del Prado street in Havana.
The regime placated the march that was scheduled for this November 15 in Cuba.
Police forces packed the streets, there were at least 11 detainees and many of the activists were besieged in their homes by government supporters.
(Photo: YAMIL LAGE / AFP) (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Police officers walk near the Capitol in Havana.
The opposition was unable to demonstrate on the island as the government ordered a strong police operation that ended with at least 11 detainees.
(Photo: YAMIL LAGE / AFP) (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
Arrests for the July 11 protests
In January of this year, six months after the July 11 protests, 790 people had been charged for their participation in the protests, and 172 had already been sentenced.
More recently, last June, the Cuban Attorney General's Office announced sanctions for 381 people in connection with their participation in the demonstrations.
In a statement, the attorney general said that 381 people were sanctioned for "sedition; sabotage; robbery with force and violence; attacks; contempt and public disorder."
Of those 381 people, 297 were sentenced to prison terms of between 5 and 25 years.
The remaining 84 people, including young people between 16 and 18 years old, were sentenced to alternative sentences, some of whom will perform correctional work instead of spending time in jail.
The prosecutor added that the events of July 11, 2021 "threatened the constitutional order and stability of our socialist state."
Thousands leave Cuba: record numbers of migrants
After the July 2021 demonstrations, thousands of Cubans decided to leave the island.
This situation has been exacerbated in 2022, a year in which Cuba continues to face the worst shortage of food and medicine in decades, and disproportionate inflation.
In 2021, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) registered 39,303 Cubans.
So far in 2022, CBP has registered 140,602, more than triple last year's total.
The testimonies of the migrants are eloquent.
Claudia, a Cuban who spoke to CNN, her husband and her son are three of the people who have left Cuba since then.
They managed to obtain visas for Mexico in Havana, the first step in a journey that put them in the hands of criminal human-smuggling networks known to charge migrants thousands of dollars for passage to the US border.
Claudia, who asked CNN not to use her real name for her safety, said she decided to leave Cuba after widespread protests erupted in July 2021 over power cuts, food shortages and a lack of civil liberties.
"I just couldn't take it anymore after July 11," Claudia told CNN.
"I'm leaving for my son, for his future. I work in a (government) hospital for US$50 a month. I basically work for free."
Read his full story here.
How are Cuba-US relations going?
It is well known that the historical relations between Cuba and the United States are marked by tension and diplomatic confrontation.
Although in the government of Barack Obama there were unprecedented rapprochements with the island, the administration of Donald Trump meant a new setback in relations between the two countries.
In the government of President Joe Biden, the trend has been one of greater openness, but with episodes that prolong uncertainty.
In January of this year, the CIA assessed in an interim finding that the series of mysterious incidents sickening US officials around the world, known colloquially as the Havana syndrome, were unlikely to represent "a sustained global campaign" by part of Russia or any other foreign actor with the intention of harming the US.
Following this, the island's deputy foreign minister, Carlos Fernández de Cossío Domínguez, told CNN that the United States should restore relations with Cuba immediately.
In May, something was announced that lightened the tension between the two nations.
The US State Department announced a series of measures it said were aimed at supporting the Cuban people, including the reinstatement of the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program (CFRP), and the increased consular services and visa processing.
"We will make it easier for families to visit relatives in Cuba and for authorized American travelers to engage with the Cuban people, attend meetings and conduct research," spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
The Biden administration is also lifting the $1,000 per quarter family remittance limit "and will support donation remittances to Cuban entrepreneurs, with the goal of further empowering families to support each other and for entrepreneurs expand their businesses," Price said.
For its part, the Government of Cuba described the relaxation of the Biden administration's restrictions on the island as "a limited step in the right direction," according to a statement.
Despite these advances, recently in June, Cuba attacked the decision of the United States not to invite his country, Nicaragua or Venezuela to the Summit of the Americas, a regional meeting held in Los Angeles.
"There is not a single reason that justifies the undemocratic and arbitrary exclusion of any country in the hemisphere from this continental meeting," condemned a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
"You cannot talk about the Americas without including all the countries of the hemisphere," the statement insisted.
US officials claimed that the lack of human rights and democratic elections in those three Latin American countries led to their exclusion from the event.
Cuba was invited to the Summit of the Americas for the first time in 2015, in the midst of a rapprochement with the then government of Barack Obama, and again in 2018.
This report contains information from CNN's Patrick Oppmann, Jennifer Hansler, Nicky Robertson and Mia Alberti.
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