Anti-government protests in Cuba

Alejo

Ambassador
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So, the situation in Cuba has been interesting since this past Sunday the 11th. Protests erupted last Sunday and so far there's one person dead and maybe at least 100 arrested, though this information comes from the opposition to the government, so this information is not that reliable. I will paste an article I found on RT for a bit of context:

One man was killed in clashes with police during an anti-government rally, Cuba’s Interior Ministry said, confirming the first death amid the protests as the US insists it will turn away any Cubans who flee the unrest by sea.

A man identified as Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, 36, was killed by Cuban security forces during a demonstration on the outskirts of Havana on Monday, accordingto Granma, an official organ of the Cuban Communist Party. Several other protesters and police officers were also injured in the clashes.
The Interior Ministry said it “regrets the death of this person,” adding that the man was killed as authorities tried to maintain “internal order” and that an investigation had been launched into the incident.

The state-backed outlet reported that “organized groups of antisocial and criminal elements” gathered in Havana’s Arroyo Naranjo district and attempted to march toward a nearby police station “with the aim of attacking officers and damaging the facility.”

The demonstrators were intercepted by officers with the Interior Ministry before they reached their destination, at which point clashes erupted, with protesters reportedly wielding “stones and blunt objects.” They were also said to have “vandalized homes,” damaged power lines and set a few small fires during the encounter.

A number of arrests were also made, Granma reported, though exactly how many remains unclear.

Tejeda’s is the first confirmed death linked to a recent wave of anti-government protests, which kicked off in earnest on Sunday, when large crowds took to the streets of Havana and other cities to demand urgent action on food, medicine and power shortages, among other complaints. Chants of “Liberty!” and “Cuba is not yours!” have become popular slogans amid the demonstrations, with some protesters also demanding an end to communist rule on the island.
Opposition groups claim that more than 100 arrests have been made since Sunday, alleging that protesters, journalists and other activists had been targeted. Spain’s Foreign Ministry has also said Spanish reporter Camila Acosta was swept up in the arrests, though the Cuban government has so far offered no specifics on arrests made or injuries sustained during the rallies.

Also on rt.com Cuba’s president blames Washington for protests, says US sanctions responsible for shortages and ‘social unrest’
Cuban authorities have pinned the protests on foreign meddling, with President Miguel Diaz-Canel accusing Washington of pursuing a “policy of economic suffocation to provoke social unrest,” referring to decades of US sanctions imposed on the country. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez went even further, claiming “US-financed mercenaries” helped to fuel the anti-government demonstrations.

US welcomes Cuban unrest, but not sea-borne refugees​

As unrest grips parts of Cuba, Washington has aired concerns about citizens attempting to flee to the US, even while vocally backing the protesters. On Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas warned that Cubans who try to reach the US by crossing the ocean would be turned away.
“Let me be clear: If you take to the sea, you will not come to the United States,”he told a news briefing, adding that the Coast Guard is monitoring the border and is prepared to deal with any surge in migration.

The DHS chief also told reporters on Monday that 20 people had died attempting similar sea voyages in recent weeks, saying “Our priority is to save lives.” The same no-entry policy applies to everyone, “regardless of their nationality,” Mayorkas went on, including Haitians fleeing unrest in their own country. The Caribbean nation is in the middle of a major political crisis after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated by a group of gunmen last week.

Now, there have been the usual suspects behaving as per usual. The whole western world is applauding and defending the right of the people to freely manifest as free men and all that, which already makes me suspicious. Some allies such as Venezuela and Bolivia are defending the government. Despite the superficial lean to the left that the governments have taken, and their seeming resolve to "stop the pandemic", Cuba, a socialist nation, will remain sanctioned and under an embargo, this also prevents them from being able to function properly, get supplies and profit from tourism and so on.

In Cuba they have blamed USAID for financing a campaign on Twitter to spread disinformation about what's going on in the island. Which is something that isn't unheard of.

Cuba being disliked by the US is not news, but if they are in fact behind the effort to destabilize the nation, what would be the point? and why now?

From what I have read, there's an internal recognition in Havana about the precariousness of the situation that the people protesting are facing, and they even understand their desire to manifest, however they condemn the destruction of property and looting. They blame their inability to better respond to their conditions to the embargo and sanctions established under Trump. Which all sounds fairly reasonable.

But, I still find it odd that the US would want to stir things up in the Caribbean at this time? could the campaign against Cuba be somehow related to the recent operation to get rid of Haiti's late president? I mean most of those involved in the operation have turned out to be DEA informants, mostly Colombians and one US citizen.

So I am not sure if I am seeing something where there's nothing, or if we're witnessing some power play in the Caribbean with a goal the remains elusive.

What do you guys think?
 
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So I am not sure if I am seeing something where there's nothing, or if we're witnessing some power play in the Caribbean with a goal the remains elusive.

What do you guys think?
I say wait and see but it sure look fishy.

Knowing that the goal of the sts is to achieve total control before the ‘’jump’’, cuba who as developed its own vaccine of which we know nothing may go again the consortium goal. I doubt that the present Cuban government will accept the vaccine from the U.S. even if they could afford it, which I doubt.

This seam a pretty week excuse I know, taking in their agenda 2030. What is the rush then to destabilise Cuba now. Unless 2030 is just mean for the rat, knowing that they rushed everything to fix the problem cause by the original covid vaccine.

this quote from V seem best to describe my thought at the moment,

 
'The US is trying to stop the Russian 'influence' in Cuba.'

(Google translation)

US to send ships to blockade Cuba

2021-07-12

US Air Force planes began to circle off the coast of Cuba, fearing the transfer of the Russian military

2021-07-14

14.07.2021
 
So I am not sure if I am seeing something where there's nothing, or if we're witnessing some power play in the Caribbean with a goal the remains elusive.

What do you guys think?
What are they (Deep State) going to do with that massive infrastructure they built for keeping bases in 150 countries, control centers in Washington and else where, political system in grip, MIC's, constant spying, 700 billions yearly budget, massive human resources that needs justification for its own existence and so on. They can't sit idle and will keep on stirring until everything goes in flames. It's a circus and there nothing any body can do except keep fighting.
 
What are they (Deep State) going to do with that massive infrastructure they built for keeping bases in 150 countries, control centers in Washington and else where, political system in grip, MIC's, constant spying, 700 billions yearly budget, massive human resources that needs justification for its own existence and so on. They can't sit idle and will keep on stirring until everything goes in flames. It's a circus and there nothing any body can do except keep fighting.
Or at least act like they're trying while waiting for their pensions... at least enough to get the defense industry checks written.
 
Fom BFM.RU, Deepl translation


So far the protests have been peaceful, with several people detained. What made people take to the streets: the difficult economic situation due to the covid or provocations from abroad?

Protests involving thousands of people took place in several Cuban cities on Sunday and Monday. Demonstrators are demanding freedom, their slogan being "Fatherland and life" as opposed to the official "Fatherland or death". Apart from chanting "we are not afraid" and sometimes "we are hungry". Several people were detained on Sunday, but so far things have been fairly peaceful, commented Valeria Tkachenko, author of the blog about Cuba lera.cuba:

Valeria Tkachenko
author of the blog about Cuba lera.cuba

"People have appeared on the streets again, also the police have appeared on the streets, but they do not use force, at least in Havana. There is talk in the cities that they have even heard some shots from the police, but the government is not letting the enforcers in because if they do, then there will be a massive showdown and the population will suffer. Right now, if a police car passes on the streets, people throw stones at it. Also in Havana, there are a lot of people around the Capitol in the middle of Havana and in the surrounding areas. Since the riots have caused a gathering of people, there will likely be more infestations, but people are saying that since people are not afraid to come out in the streets, all together, it means that the current government is much scarier than the virus."

The discontent has been brewing because Cuba's already fragile economy has been utterly crippled by the pandemic. Total shortages, hours-long queues. And draconian administrative measures. The fine for not wearing a mask, for example, is around $80 - a lot of money by Cuban standards, almost a month's wages.

But since the protesters are mostly well-dressed young people, it makes you think the actions were inspired from abroad, says Yegor Lidovsky, director general of the Hugo Chavez Latin American Center:

Egor Lidovsky
General director of the Hugo Chavez Latin American Centre

"The actions that have taken place in Cuba have been inspired from abroad. We saw recently the assassination of the president of Haiti, which was carried out by mercenaries from Colombia, and there were two American citizens who coordinated the case. And now we are seeing protests in Cuba. These are links in the same chain, because shortly before that top US officials had visited Latin America. They had said that there had been a confidential mission to establish democracy in Latin America. And just after this visit we see these events in Haiti and we see protests in Cuba. This is happening against a backdrop of a worsening economic situation, the coronavirus pandemic is of course to blame, and the economy is very much weakened at this point because of the increasing blockade that is taking place from the Biden administration."

Cuba has claimed to have developed as many as two vaccines against covid. However, this sounds more like a propaganda ploy, and ample evidence suggests that the reality is that health care is in chaos. Hospitals are short of beds and medicines. Meanwhile, the Cuban government has refused on principle to accept humanitarian aid from abroad, and especially from the US, including joining the international mechanism COVAX, which would have given the population access to other - more widely known - vaccines.
 
It seems like just more of the same old US imperial color revolution stuff to me.

[I've changed the thread title by the way. I'm not a fan of naming a thread 'Country X' then placing all references and events related to that country in there. There's a thread called 'China', for example. Are ALL things Chinese to go there?! It represents over one seventh of the planet's population, and a third of its economic output!]
 

14 July، 2021
Syria has condemned in the strongest terms the US outrageous interference in Cuba’s internal affairs which aims to undermine the stability in it, expressing confidence that Havana which has faced the US unjust blockade will be able to overcome the new onslaught facing it and to preserve its sovereignty.

An official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry, in a statement to SANA on Wednesday, said “The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms the US blatant interference in Cuba’s internal affairs which aims to destabilize it and to undermine the achievements gained by the Cuban people.”

The source added “The US unjust blockade and the policy of the illegitimate unilateral coercive measures are the main reason behind the difficult economic conditions and the suffering in the livelihood of the Cuban citizens, and the international community must move and put an end to this economic terrorism which constitutes a violation of the international humanitarian law and the most basic human rights.”

The source went on saying that the Syrian Arab Republic expresses its full solidarity with the friendly Cuban leadership, government and people, and it is confident that Cuba, which has faced the unjust US blockade for nearly sixty years, will be able to overcome the new onslaught against it and preserve its sovereignty.

PressTV:

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has accused the United States of provoking social unrest through heavy economic pressure on the Caribbean island nation in the wake of anti-government protests in major cities. ...

Diaz-Canel on Monday blamed the chaotic situation on the United States for pursuing a "policy of economic suffocation to provoke social unrest in the country." ...

The United States has maintained a harsh economic, financial and commercial embargo against Cuba for more than 60 years. Numerous resolutions by the United Nations General Assembly have indicated that the blockade is against international law. ...

Meanwhile, Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Monday that US-financed mercenaries had instigated unrest ahead of the weekend protests with a media strategy disguised as a social media campaign that called for humanitarian aid. ...



The mayor of Miami, Florida, has called on the US to consider military action to overthrow the Communist regime in Cuba — even if that means launching airstrikes.

Francis Suarez — whose father was Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor — told Fox News on Tuesday that “what should be being contemplated right now is a coalition of potential military action in Cuba.”

He highlighted previous US military action in Panama, Kosovo and Pakistan, the latter of which “probably saved thousands” of lives by killing Osama bin Laden when President Biden was vice president. ...

He also stressed that “the Cuban people are not asking for the lifting of an embargo” enforced by the US, which Cuban officials and many on the left have blamed for the protests.

“They’re not yelling out, ‘End the embargo.’ They’re not yelling out, ‘We need food.’ They’re yelling out, ‘We want liberty, we want freedom,'” he told MacCallum.

They’re not yelling out, ‘End the embargo.’ They’re not yelling out, ‘We need food.’ They’re yelling out, ‘We want liberty, we want freedom,'” - that would fit a typical "color revolution" template.
 
Last year, I learned about Cuba’s “special period” for the first time. Marjory Wildcraft interviewed a woman who raised children in the early to mid nineties there.
The woman outlined the obstacles the people of Cuba faced daily, but she also noted what a blessing that time was. She attested that her community learned how to grow their own organic food, how to combine forces, and ultimately how to live independently only through these trying times. Their food quality, their health, and their ties to each other obviously improved as they learned these lessons.
Granted, that’s just one person’s take.
I can’t help but wonder, after hearing her story, how the country forgot all of that so quickly.
I mean, I get it. But they went through all of this not very long ago.
So I concur; I suspect color revolution.
 
It seems like just more of the same old US imperial color revolution stuff to me.

[I've changed the thread title by the way. I'm not a fan of naming a thread 'Country X' then placing all references and events related to that country in there. There's a thread called 'China', for example. Are ALL things Chinese to go there?! It represents over one seventh of the planet's population, and a third of its economic output!]
Thank you Niall!

They’re not yelling out, ‘End the embargo.’ They’re not yelling out, ‘We need food.’ They’re yelling out, ‘We want liberty, we want freedom,'” - that would fit a typical "color revolution" template.
That's the way it seems to me as well, specially since I've read reports of people within Cuba and in the US clamoring for a humanitarian intervention from the freedom and democracy specialists.

There have also been movements asking for the end of the embargo and letting Cuba be actually free to prosper if they will, but of course these are ignored.

I can’t help but wonder, after hearing her story, how the country forgot all of that so quickly.
I mean, I get it. But they went through all of this not very long ago.
So I concur; I suspect color revolution.
I have a feeling that this is where the Foreing Minister of Cuba has a valid point, it's the access to the internet of the younger generations, where they can see the "great life" that they could all have if only they didn't have their government. An phenomenon that I reckon is simply organic, but then there's also an effort to propagandize the youth within Cuba.

Then there's also the factor of long time opposition, who also have an interest in more people seeing their situation as they do. And then there's the mixing of all these factors from abroad, adding on top of it the whole covid nonsense et voila, you've got a nation primed for a nice color revolution.
 
If US manages to provide free internet for Cuban people, that would be a game changer.


Cuban regime is not only a failed system, it's anachronistic and it's bewildering how it could survive for so long.
 
I agree that providing internet to Cuba would essentially amount to a massive trojan horse operation, first installing a limitless propaganda vehicle, and second, whenever Cuba retaliates by controlling it, it could always be interpreted as an affront agains the US and freedom and whatnot. Not only that, but it amounts to abuse, just like giving freedom to Irak, or Lybia, "Here Cuba, we have determined that you need internet.." a provocation at best.

For the record, I found this article where some of the fake news that were spread about Cuba recently were collected, I have translated it using DeepL:

From "assuring" that former President Raul Castro had fled to Venezuela, to the "resignations" of generals, the "takeover" of cities and public squares, the "kidnapping" of communist leaders, or the "death" of countless people, the social networks and the main pages of honorable media distributed them, without the slightest contrast or confirmation, and echoed the popular and harmful fake news that abound so much in these times.

Even though many of the demonstrators who participated in the street protests in Havana and other cities of the country were defending legitimate claims, the manipulation of these acts by external operators contributed to disqualify them, and to generate open violence between protesters -including a marginal sector that took advantage of the situation to commit crimes- and the forces of law and order.

One dead, dozens of wounded, more than a hundred arrests, and a good number of people awaiting to be brought before the courts of justice, was the result of a just claim, which served as a pretext for those who inside and outside the island are sparing no effort to provoke a social outburst that would bring down the Government and its institutions.

Of lies, falsehoods and other issues

One of the first fake news that spread through networks and media was the announcement that former President Raul Castro (2008-2018) had fled Cuba; some said he was heading to Venezuela and others to Galicia, Spain, using as an "argument" a photo of the leader descending from the staircase of a plane upon his arrival in Costa Rica, to participate in the III Summit of CELAC in 2015.

For its part, the Spanish newspaper ABC published in its pages the "resignation" of a Cuban general, vice-minister of the Interior, allegedly due to disagreements with the measures adopted to curb demonstrations and vandalism, which was also publicly denied by the Foreign Ministry of the Caribbean country.
Another of the most commented photos was one that appeared these days in social networks with a text dated July 11: "The Havana Malecon right now. Thousands of Cubans continue to arrive to demand democracy", insisted the caption of the graphic... until the truth emerged and it was proven that the snapshot had been taken in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, during a demonstration on February 11, 2011.

Another photo, identified as "a Cuban child has just been violently attacked by Cuban communist forces" -also on July 11-, turned out to be an image published three days earlier! -on July 8-, after a shooting that took place in the Cota 905 neighborhood in Caracas, capital of Venezuela.
Another message that appeared on social networks and associated with the demonstrations in Havana expressed: "Cuba woke up! Down with dictatorship! Down with communism! Freedom for Cuba! #SOSCuba", accompanied by a photograph showing a hooded young man with his face covered, throwing an incendiary bottle, while behind him there is a wall with a photograph of the legendary Cuban-Argentine guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara and the phrase "No more communism".
It later became known that the image, by American photographer David McNew, was taken on May 30, 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA, during the protests against the assassination of African-American George Floyd.

Several media outlets also used photos of the marches in support of the Cuban government demonstrating against the blockade imposed by the U.S. on the island, as if they corresponded to the protesters who criticized the authorities.


At the same time, false news was given announcing the "seizure" of the building of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT) and of the national radio station Radio Progreso, both institutions in Havana, and the alleged deaths at the hands of the forces of law and order of several citizens were "denounced", among them Juan Carlos Charón, in Santiago de Cuba, who shortly afterwards appeared on the networks complaining that his image had been manipulated by unscrupulous people.

News was also spread about electricity blackouts and water supply cuts during the protests, the alleged "fall" of the city of Camagüey (east) in the hands of demonstrators who had been "joined" by the police and the army, and even the alleged "arrest" of the first secretary of the Communist Party in Camagüey, Ariel Santana, who appeared shortly after on national television, when in fact what was happening were massive demonstrations in support of the Cuban Revolution.
 
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