A group of Cubans in Caimanera, a small port city near the US military base in Guantánamo, took to the streets on Saturday night, according to social media reports and official reports, in the first known anti-government protests of the year in Cuba.
Videos posted on social media, many shared by dissidents outside Cuba and by human rights groups, showed what appeared to be men in military uniforms and others in civilian clothes confronting dozens of protesters on a dimly lit street while others filmed. cell phone events.
The footage showed protesters in the fishing village near the eastern end of the island chanting anti-government slogans and chanting “freedom”.
Tensions have been particularly high in Cuba for several weeks as the severe fuel shortagePublic transportation, power generation, and the country’s food supply have been affected.
The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But state radio journalist Mabel Pozo said on social media that the protest began when “several citizens, some intoxicated, shouted statements against the Cuban social process and about their discontent.”
Pozo wrote that “security forces and other people contributed to dissuading the people concentrated in the street, who responded and returned to their homes.”
Reuters could not independently verify the reports or videos on social media or the official version of events in the media.
Far away Caimanera is known in Cuba as the “first trench of anti-imperialism” due to its proximity to the naval base in Guantanamo. The town is more than 12 hours by land from Havana.
Protests in Cuba are extremely rare, but have sprung up more frequently in recent years due to the economic crisis.
The US embassy in Havana on Sunday criticized Cuba’s handling of the Caimanera protest.
“Cuban security forces responded with violence last night to peaceful protests in the town of Caimanera, beating citizens for demanding human rights,” the embassy said on Twitter.
“Cuba also closed its Internet for fear of freedom of expression. The Cuban repression of the rights of its citizens is cruel and useless, freedom always wins.”
Dissidents and the United States have long accused the Cuban government of blocking internet traffic across the country when protests erupt in an attempt to contain anti-government sentiment. Meanwhile, Cuban officials allege the United States is using social media to stoke unrest on the island in an attempt to overthrow the government.
Global web watchdog Netblocks showed a sharp drop in web traffic in Cuba on Saturday shortly after the protest was first reported.
“Network data shows a collapse in internet traffic in #Cuba amid protests for freedom and human rights around Caimanera, Guantanamo; connectivity remains intermittent today with partial restoration noted,” said the internet monitor on Twitter.
The state media’s version of events seemed to blame the lack of internet access for a surge in web traffic.
“The tranquility of the afternoon was disturbed this Saturday in Caimanera and of course, the internet almost collapsed,” said the pro-government journalist Pozo.
That message was shared by the state television channel Canal Caribe several hours after the first videos were published, confirming the protest in Caimanera but assuring citizens that “the streets were calm.”
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