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Cuba Protests: 1 Dead, More Than 100 Arrests

VOA News

   Cuba's government said Tuesday one person hasdied after anti-government
   protests, while rights groups said authorities have arrested more than
   100 people.

   The government said a 36-year-old man died Monday during aclash between
   protesters and police in Arroyo Naranjo,on the outskirts of Havana.

   The Cuban capital had a heavy police presence Tuesday, two days after
   demonstrators there and in other parts of the country conducted the
   largest anti-government protests in decades.

   Protesters expressed their frustration with food shortages, high
   prices, electricity outages and the government's response to the
   coronavirus pandemic.

   Cuban state media said Tuesday that former leader Raul Castro had met
   Sunday with PresidentMiguel DÃaz-Caneland the rest of the ruling
   Communist Party's leadership to discuss the protests.

   DÃaz-Caneland other officials have blamed the unrest on theCuban
   Americans on social media and theUnited Statesgovernment'sdecades-long
   embargo on Cuba. Sanctions and restrictions imposed by former U.S.
   President Donald Trump and a drop in tourism related to the pandemic
   have put extra pressure on the Cuban economy in recent years.
   People gather in Martyrs Park where wifi connections are working in
   Havana, Cuba, July 13, 2021. Cuban President Miguel DÃaz-Canel is
   accusing Cuban Americans of using social media to spur Sunday's
   nationwide antigovernment protests.

   U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price saidat a briefingTuesday that
   the protesters are "standing up to Cuba's authoritarian regime."

   "Their basic needs are not being met and they are understandably
   exhausted," Price said.

   Internet monitoring firmNetBlockssaid Tuesday that the Cuban government
   had restricted access toa number ofmobile messaging and social media
   services, including Facebook and WhatsApp.

   CubanForeign Minister Bruno Rodriguezdenied the government was shutting
   off access.

   "We have had electricity problems. We have communication problems;
   connectivity problems," Rodriguez said Tuesday. "And it is true that we
   are in a complex situation, and it is true that there has been a lack
   of electricity these days, which also affects the functioning of the
   networks of the telecommunications server nodes."

   Price said the United States is calling on Cuba to open "all means of
   communication."

   "Shutting down technology, shutting down information pathways,that does
   nothing to address the legitimate needs and aspirations of the Cuban
   people," he said.

   The United States is also discouraging any potential attempts by people
   in Cuba to try to leave the island nation by boat and reach U.S.
   shores.

   "Any migrant intercepted at sea, regardless of their nationality, will
   not be permitted to enter the United States,"Homeland Security
   Secretary AlejandroMayorkastold reporters Tuesday."This risk is not
   worth taking."

   Mayorkas said at this point there has been no indication of an increase
   in migration attempts by sea.

   Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, AFP
   and Reuters.

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