A group of Cubans residing in Miami met this Sunday in front of the Versailles cafe to support the protests that have been taking place on the island since the collapse of the electrical system, after the passage of Hurricane Ian, leaving millions of citizens without service, and the protests began. Internet cuts to prevent communication and dissemination of demonstrations and their repression.
Among those gathered before the mythical Florida restaurant were historical opponents such as the former political prisoner, Jorge Luis García Pérez, Antunez, and the leader of Cuba Decide Rosa María Payá; along with others recently landed such as the rapper Eliecer Márquez Duany, the funkythe graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado, Sixth, the independent journalist Esteban Rodríguez, and the boxer Yordenis Ugás. In addition, the actor Roberto San Martín and the influencer Alexander Otaola.
Together with them, more than 200 exiled Cubans called on the international community not to abandon Cuba in the face of repression and on the Joe Biden Administration to speak out forcefully against the Cuban regime and refuse to send aid.
In a brief speech, Rosa María Payá, daughter of the late leader of the Christian Liberation Movement and promoter of the Varela Project, Oswaldo Paya, insisted that the help that Castroism is asking for from the US government should not be provided, since the people has taken to the streets to ask for freedom and not business or help. “The businesses will come when Cuba is free,” cried the activist, who added that the opposition will help at that time.
Payá insisted that it is necessary to send a message to the Biden Administration so that there is no rapprochement that legitimizes the dictatorship and would not change anything for the population.
Among the demonstrators, some called for a military intervention in Cuba, although the majority showed their solidarity with the protests and support for those who are on the streets of the island standing up to the authorities. “If Cuba is on the street, Miami too,” they chanted.
Many of those who gathered this Sunday before Versailles were newcomers to the US who were telling each other about their journey through Nicaragua. There were also some still fearful of the presence of various police units that guarded the peaceful development of the concentration, although the most experienced asked them to calm down. “The police are here to take care of us,” they said to each other.
Meanwhile, this Sunday night the Cubans went out again in several cities, according to videos that circulated on social networks. From Punta Brava and Santiago de las Vegas, in the Havana municipalities of La Lisa and Boyeros or Capellanía, in Artemisa, testimonies arrived of different casseroles in which “We want the light” was shouted again.
According to the organization Justicia 11J, since September 30 there have been 20 arrests of participants in these protests, of which 14 are still detained.
According to the organization Justice 11J, since September 30 there have been 20 arrests of participants in these protests, of which 14 are still detained.
“About 15 people [fueron] arrested for last night’s protests on Calle Línea, Vedado and Arroyo Arenas”, in Havana, as well as in Baracoa, the group said on Twitter. Five arrests in previous days are added to them.
Although the relatives “have been told that the demonstrators will soon be released,” some of those who were detained in Vedado have been transferred to the Technical Investigations Department (DTI), where suspects are generally taken who are planned to be processed. .
Justice 11J also reports that there are five demonstrators from Havana, Villa Clara and Guantanamo who are already free.
In addition, the organization Amnesty International (AI) denounced this Sunday that “protests are intensifying in Cuba” and that they are receiving “reports of repression, possible arrests and Internet outages.”
“We demand that the government of President Miguel Díaz-Canel put an end to the repression, and listen to the demands of those who protest peacefully,” AI stressed on Twitter.
“We demand that the government of President Miguel Díaz-Canel put an end to the repression, and listen to the demands of those who protest peacefully,” AI stressed on Twitter.
Hurricane Ian crossed the western end of Cuba from south to north on Tuesday, with heavy rains and winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour, causing extensive material damage and five deaths, according to the latest official balance published this Sunday.
The Electric Union of Cuba (UNE) multiplied this weekend its publications of new restored electrical circuits, but the cuts and blackouts continue without it being possible to distinguish whether they are a consequence of the great failure of last Tuesday or the months with a deficit of electricity. generation that accumulates in the system due to continuous failures of thermoelectric plants and distributed generation plants.
In Havana, the UNE has reported that 95.3% of customers already have electricity, but there is still no service in specific places in the city. Regarding the water supply, at a meeting of the Government of Havana it was said that 92% of the population receives the service, with 170,000 pending clients.
In contrast, the restoration of services is being done extremely slowly in the province of Pinar del Río, the province most affected by the hurricane, where only 7% of the 235,311 customers have electricity service and, according to the authorities, the situation It will be normalized within 15 to 20 days.
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