Thousands of Cubans took to the streets Sunday in protest of the country’s food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The anti-government protest in the capital of Havana lasted about 2 ½ hours before it was broken up when a few protesters tossed cobblestones at police, leading to several arrests.
Before its conclusion, hordes of demonstrators, many of them young, marched around the capital chanting “Freedom,” “Enough” and “Unite” with police trailing behind them.
“We are fed up with the queues, the shortages. That’s why I’m here,” one middle-aged protester told The Associated Press.
The communist country is suffering from its worst economic crisis in decades and has recently seen a surge in coronavirus cases.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel undermined Sunday’s demonstrations while visiting the small town of San Antonio de los Banos, which has been plagued by power outages.
“As if pandemic outbreaks had not existed all over the world, the Cuban-American mafia, paying very well on social networks to influencers and Youtubers, has created a whole campaign … and has called for demonstrations across the country,” Diaz-Canel told reporters.
With Post wires
