Havana says the United States is planning to intervene, Ron DeSantis applauds rare Cuban protests

Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the United States of causing riots in a national television speech, and he praised the rare anti-government protests in Cuba on Sunday night.

Amidst unprecedented dissatisfaction, thousands of Cubans took to the streets of cities across the island, demanding food, medicine, and ending the decades-long dictatorship in the economic crisis, while the surge in COVID-19 cases and the lack of vaccines The situation has deteriorated. “Freedom! We want freedom,” the protesters chanted in a video shared on social media as they marched in the country’s capital, Havana. “Down with communism!”

DeSantis wrote on Twitter: “Florida supports the Cuban people taking to the streets to oppose the dictatorship in Havana.” “The Cuban dictatorship has suppressed the Cuban people for decades and is now trying to get those who have the courage to publicly oppose its disaster. People with sex policies remain silent.”

In a communist country where dissidents are suppressed through police surveillance and control, the protests are considered extraordinary. Cuban officials shut down the Internet in the afternoon as law enforcement began arresting and accusing protesters, while using tear gas to disperse the crowd.

in a Impromptu afternoon addressDiaz-Canel accused the United States of “provoking a social uprising” in a so-called conspiracy to legitimize military intervention. “We will not surrender the sovereignty or 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. We will fight on the streets.”

“The order to fight has been issued. Revolutionaries need to take to the streets,” Diaz-Canel concluded. He did not make any concessions to the protesters.

With protests erupting in Havana, San Antonio de los Banos and Palma Soriano, areas outside the country with large numbers of Cubans, including Miami, have also seen people taking to the streets to support the Cuban protests.

The decades-long U.S. trade embargo has greatly restricted Cuba’s ability to trade and grow its economy. Havana’s agricultural production capacity is also plagued by persistent inefficiency and bureaucracy, resulting in a shortage of basic food and long queues for basic necessities across the country.

In addition, the country has been working hard to reduce the spread of COVID-19, which has further worsened its economic situation. Two days after the country approved the emergency use of its domestic vaccine, health officials reported a record number of new cases and deaths on Sunday.

The Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, Zhu Lizhong, wrote on Twitter: “As the Cuban people exercise their right to peaceful assembly to express their concerns about the rising number of new coronary pneumonia cases/deaths, peaceful protests in Cuba are increasing.”

Weekly newspaper Contact the Cuban Embassy in Washington for comments. This story will be updated with any response.