Starved and Without Electricity, Hundreds of Cubans Nationwide Take to the Streets Chanting ‘Freedom’

Hundreds of Cuban citizens took to the streets of Santiago de Cuba and Bayamo on Sunday to protest against power blackouts, severe food shortages, and the total lack of political rights under communism in the country.

The peaceful protesters – who chanted “Electricity and Food,” “Fatherland and Life,” and “Freedom” – reportedly began to gather on Sunday afternoon, demanding an end to communism and the inhumane living conditions that the Castro regime continues to subject them to. The protest was reportedly initiated by a group of women and their children.

Cuba’s economic situation has deteriorated significantly in the past decade as more than six decades of communist rule have left the nation and its infrastructure in complete ruin, prompting the worst economic and migrant crisis in the nation’s history.

Power blackouts that can last 20 hours per day, which have plagued Cuban citizens for years, have dramatically worsened in recent weeks. Castro regime authorities admitted over the weekend that entire regions of the country are enduring blackouts “practically all day.” The daily blackouts now include the capital city of Havana – which had previously been spared from the worst consequences of the government’s failure to maintain the power grid. Similarly, worsening food shortages and inflation have led to rising hunger in the nation.

The Sunday afternoon peaceful protests began in the streets of eastern Santiago de Cuba, extending to other areas as the day went by.

As the protest in Santiago continued, Cuban Communist Party secretary Beatriz Johnson arrived at the premises attempting to appease the protesters as they made their demands known. The protest’s participants continued to chant at her, saying that they did not want to hear any excuses, and demanding freedom.

In another video smuggled out of the country, the protesters appeared to interrupt speeches by plain-clothes communist officials with chants demanding power and food. The regime’s officials attempted to silence the crowds, with little success.

#17M #ProtestasSantiagoDeCuba #Cuba Mujeres y jóvenes en la calle gritando “corriente y comida” mientras uniformados y hombres vestidos de civil intentan callarlos, pero los manifestantes gritan más fuerte sus reclamos. | Video: Martí Noticas https://t.co/ldgFSvNyjL pic.twitter.com/DTPy9j0dSE

— 14ymedio (@14ymedio) March 17, 2024

An anonymous Cuban citizen told the Associated Press on Sunday that the Castro regime had disrupted internet service in the area as videos of the protest began surfacing on social media. Other sources confirmed the disruption in internet services throughout the day.

The protests extended past late evening hours, spreading to other locations such as Bayamo, where participants reported a “perceptibly strong” police presence. The news outlet Cubanet denounced that it received several reports of police violence. Footage posted on social media showed police officers beating and arresting several individuals who were running away to avoid being arrested.

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A post shared by Nelson Martin Gonzalez Quevedo (@un_maceito_to_lindon2)

 

The Madrid-based outlet Diario de Cuba reported that the protests had extended to other districts such as Agüero, La Barca de Oro, and El Salado, where protests had taken place days ago.

💥Cubanos salen a las calles de Bayamo para protestar contra el régimen #cuba #noticiascuba#soscuba pic.twitter.com/JBhTwWdukp

— Cubanet 🇺 (@CubanetNoticias) March 18, 2024

 

The Castro regime’s figurehead “president,” Miguel Díaz-Canel, addressed the protests on Sunday evening through a series of social media posts in which he claimed that the protests had been encouraged by “terrorists based in the U.S.,” while once again blaming the nation’s precarious situations and problems on America’s limited sanctions on communist elites in Cuba.

“Several people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation of the electric service and food distribution,” Díaz-Canel’s message reads. “This context is being exploited by the enemies of the Revolution for destabilizing purposes.”

“In the last few hours we have seen how terrorists based in the US, whom we have denounced on repeated occasions, encourage actions against the internal order of the country,” he continued.

Díaz-Canel doubled down on his accusations through a pair of social media posts published on early Monday morning.

“The infamous troupe wanted to go out yesterday to dance with the pain of the Cubans. Mediocre politicians and terrorists in networks lined up from South Florida to heat up the streets of Cuba with interventionist messages and calls for chaos,” Díaz-Canel’s message read. “They were left with their wishes unfulfilled.”

“We will not tire of fighting against the Genocidal Blockade [limited American sanctions on communist elites] nor of explaining to the people the causes of the problems and the government’s efforts to move the economy forward,” he continued in another post. “Together We Are Stronger.”

The United States embassy in Cuba issued a brief social media post on Sunday evening in which it urged the Castro regime to respect the human rights of the protesters and address their legitimate needs.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.