Cuba protests before US embassy over long-standing sanctions

Thousands of Cubans marched in front of the US embassy in Havana on Friday to protest Washington’s sanctions, as the communist government prepares for a stronger deal with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

General Raúl Castro, 93, and the head of the Cuban Communist Party, President Miguel Díaz-Canel, led the demonstration called by the Government. Cubans condemned the United States embargo imposed since 1962 and its inclusion on the list of State sponsors of terrorism.

“Down with the blockade and no one here surrenders” was heard among the crowd, while Cuban flags were waved.

In a text read before the start of the march, Díaz-Canel said: “Biden disciplinedly and cruelly complied with Trump’s policy approved during his mandate,” while encouraging Cubans to demonstrate.

“We are not a terrorist state (and) we are here to condemn any coercive act against the people of Cuba,” said Ambar Rivero, professor at the University of Medicine.

The march was the first in years in front of the US diplomatic headquarters to demonstrate against the “blockade”, a strategy that the late Fidel Castro designed for decades in the midst of the Cold War era.

The government says U.S. sanctions are largely to blame for a depression that has left large swaths of the population and economy facing daily power outages, double-digit inflation and shortages of basic goods, water and fuel.

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