Cuba sees biggest protests for decades as pandemic adds to woes

People take part in a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana

Chanting ‘freedom’ and calling for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down, thousands of Cubans joined street protests from Havana to Santiago on Sunday in the biggest anti-government demonstrations on the Communist-run island in decades. The protests erupted amid Cuba's worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union, its old ally, and a record surge in coronavirus infections, with people voicing anger over shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties and the authorities' handling of the pandemic. Thousands took to the streets in various parts of Havana including the historic centre, their shouts of ‘Diaz-Canel step down’ drowning out groups of government supporters waving the Cuban flag and chanting ‘Fidel.’ Special forces jeeps, with machine guns mounted on the back were seen throughout the capital and the police presence was heavy even long after most protesters had gone home by the 9 p.m. curfew in place due to the pandemic.