International News Jul 11, 2021 10:42 PM EST
Thousands of Cubans took to the streets in multiple Cuban cities on Sunday to protest its communist dictatorship and demand its end.
![BREAKING: Thousands protest in Cuba, calling for the end of communist dictatorship](https://cms.thepostmillennial.com/content/images/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-11-at-5.41.51-PM.png)
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Thousands of Cubans took to the streets in multiple Cuban cities on Sunday to protest its communist dictatorship and demand its end.
CBS Miami reports that civil unrest has boiled over due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with protestors chanting “we are not afraid” as they called for more food and vaccines.
WATCH: The people of #Cuba have one simple demand: “LIBERTY!” pic.twitter.com/AsCL9tzhNv
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) July 11, 2021
“We are not going to hand over the sovereignty or the independence of the people,” said Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in an address to his citizens. “There are many revolutionaries in this country who are willing to give our lives, we are willing to do anything, and we will be in the streets fighting.”
The Miami Herald reports that Cuba is in the midst of its worst economic contraction since the end of the Cold War. They attribute “chronic inefficiencies” and “paralyzing bureaucracy” decimated essential food and agriculture sectors. Rising inflation have also led to long lines for food.
Sanctions from the Trump administration reduced Cuba’s access to foreign investment and remittances that exacerbated fiscal realities exposed further by COVID-19.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar wrote on Twitter. “The Cuban people are determined to be free.”
Tens of thousands of people in #Cuba are protesting at this very moment.
The regime is shutting off the internet on the island. The Castro dictatorship doesn’t want the world to see what’s happening.
Please SHARE & stand with these freedom fighters! #SOSCuba pic.twitter.com/qdKupC9r1N
— María Elvira Salazar ?? (@MaElviraSalazar) July 11, 2021
“Tens of thousands of people are protesting at this very moment.”
“The regime is shutting off the internet on the island,” she continued. “The Castro dictatorship doesn’t want the world to see what’s happening.”
Republican Senator and Cuban-American Marco Rubio, also took to Twitter, writing, “Frustration with the dictatorships incompetence, greed and repression is mounting rapidly.”
Spontaneous street protests breaking out in several cities in #Cuba right now with chants of #NoTenemosMiedo (We Are Not Afraid)
Frustration with the dictatorships incompetence,greed & repression is mounting rapidly pic.twitter.com/eSAr8Xrxpf
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 11, 2021
Rubio then shared a video on Twitter of “Communist repression squads” getting into a truck, presumably heading toward the demonstrations to break them up. He also denounced corporate media outlets for largely ignoring the ongoing protests.
Here come the Communist repression squads in #Cuba
Still largely being ignored so far by US corporate media outlets. pic.twitter.com/ldprYCmk46
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 11, 2021
Local police in Santiago de Cuba also joined the protests, alongside thousands of Cuban nationals.
The police in Santiago de Cuba join in the protests. See video. We have never seen that happen before. #SOSCuba #VivaCubaLibre pic.twitter.com/bzDEGl9wk9
— Jose Felix Diaz (@josefelixdiaz) July 11, 2021
Diaz-Canel blamed the US government for the current situation in Cuba, stating, “Cuba and its streets belong to the revolutionaries.”
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