New Protests in Cuba, Government Cuts Off Internet

Users on social networks were able to share videos and photos that recorded protests and mobilizations of repressive forces

By 14ymedio

HAVANA TIMES – The Cuban regime cut off internet access Thursday evening after protests continued in some parts of the capital. To the demonstrations in Cerro and Arroyo Naranjo another one began in San Francisco de Paula, in the municipality of San Miguel del Padron.

Mainly women and young people staged a sit-in on a street in San Francisco de Paula while hitting pots and pans. They demanded electric power, which has been missing since the National Electric System collapsed Tuesday after Hurricane Ian.

Residents of the capital told 14ymedio that the government has militarized many streets, including the main streets of Centro Habana. A barricade is also reported at Calzada del Cerro and Boyeros where “they are throwing stones and sticks,” said a source close to the Police. Some soldiers have warned drivers to take precautions if they are in that part of the capital.

The intersection of Calzada del Cerro and Boyeros Avenue is one of the busiest in Havana. In addition, Boyeros is one of the main access roads to the Plaza de la Revolucion Complex, where the headquarters of the Cuban Presidency and Government and the Central Committee of the Communist Party are located. It is an area that is always well guarded.

In the afternoon, hundreds of people had also taken to the streets to protest peacefully in Calzada del Cerro, where they prevented vehicular traffic. Likewise, in some neighborhoods of the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo.

Before the internet blackout, users on social networks were able to share from Cuba some videos and photos that recorded mobilizations of repressive forces in various parts of the country, as happened after the protests of July 11, 2021. Some military vehicles honked their horns to attract attention along with the sirens of the police patrols that were part of the caravans.

“We want the light, we want the light,” the crowd in Cerro chanted, clapping their hands. They gathered between San Pablo and Auditor Streets as seen in videos broadcast on social networks. Several vehicles of the Revolutionary Police were present without intervening.

A local resident who witnessed the crowd, assured 14ymedio that a crane immediately appeared to replace a light pole that had fallen. “People have already learned that to solve problems you have to protest,” argues this source.

However, after 6 pm, another resident of that area said a part of the road remained closed by residents: “The protest continues and no light arrives, nothing.”  Vehicle traffic remains diverted.

In the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo,  protests also occurred in neighborhoods such as Parraga and La Palma. Several users on social networks shared videos and photos of what was happening, along with labels such as #BastaYaDeMentiras, #DíazCanelSingao and #PatriayVida.

In all the materials shared on social networks, you see many women and mothers, who are the ones who suffer most from the lack of electricity, along with the elderly and children in their care.

In a photograph taken in La Palma, two huge rows of police patrols can be seen on each side of a road. Cuban journalist Jose Raul Gallego, based in Mexico, posted when sharing the photo: “Remember: the blockade is from the Communist Party. There is no electricity, there is no oil, there is no food, but there are resources to repress.”

Read more from Cuba here on Havana Times.