By Diógenes Freire
Shouting “freedom”, hundreds of people took to the streets in Caimanera, Guantanamo province, Cuba, to protest against the regime led by dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel, a trusted friend of the Castro family and Lula.
The first Cuban protests of 2023 erupted on Saturday (6) but only lasted until Sunday (7).
Caimanera is considered one of the most guarded cities in Cuba.
The citizens who live there are used to electric fences, mined areas, and uniformed soldiers, given the proximity to the US Naval Base of Guantanamo.
Advocates of Cuba’s communist regime call Caimanera “the first anti-imperialist frontier.”
However, last Saturday (6), some local leaders declared opposition to the regime and inflamed part of the population that, tired of decades of oppression, took to the city streets.
To prevent the demonstrations from starting to resonate inside and outside the country, the internet was shut down last Sunday and only restored hours later.
After reconnecting to the internet, Cuban profiles published the records made during the government’s intervention to dissipate the demonstrations.
What can be seen in the images are scenes of police truculence against unarmed citizens whose crime was to complain about the government.
The protests were repressed by soldiers from the Interior Ministry’s National Special Brigade, also called “black berets.”
Human Rights journalists reported several arrests.
“Last night (6/5), Cubans took to the streets to protest in Caimanera, Guantanamo.”
“They demanded their right to peaceful protests and to defend human rights.”
“The protests come as the country suffers from fuel and energy shortages and food rationing,” said a Twitter profile sharing videos of the protests and police action.
According to the NGO Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos (Human Rights Cuban Observatory), five people are still missing after the police action against the protests.
Desde Caimanera, en #Cuba, luego de las protestas de ayer 6 de mayo, se reportan como secuestrados y desaparecidos los jóvenes Felipe Correa Martínez, Luis Miguel Alarcón Martínez, Yandris Pelier Matos y, los hermanos Rody y Daniel Álvarez González.#SOSCuba #NoALaRepresion pic.twitter.com/1UZTXwO9vy
— Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos (@observacuba) May 7, 2023
“Faces and names of those detained after the massive protest in Caimanera,” journalist Yosmany Mayeta posted the missing people’s identities on Facebook.