Due to Energy Crisis, Demonstrators in Cuba Ransacked Communist Party Office

Video screenshot

The Cuban Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that five people were arrested. The state newspaper Invasor reports that the demonstration "began peacefully" but then escalated into "acts of vandalism".

"A small group of people started throwing stones at the building and then set fire to furniture from the lobby in the street," the report states.

The publication reported that several other state institutions were also attacked, including a pharmacy and a shop. Videos appeared on social media showing people throwing stones at the windows of the Communist Party office and shouting "Freedom!"

Meanwhile, a large bonfire blazed in the middle of the street.

The Cuban Interior Ministry reports that law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into the "acts of vandalism".

In recent months, Cuba has been experiencing a severe energy and food crisis, with frequent power outages, and rising prices for medicines and food on the island. Essential services such as hospitals, public transport, educational institutions, and garbage collection are also affected. In the Cuban capital, power outages sometimes last for 15 hours a day.

This is due to US policy, under whose pressure Cuba's ally Venezuela stopped supplying oil to the island after the US seizure of its leader Nicolás Maduro in January. Donald Trump threatens Cuba, stating that it is next after Venezuela and Iran on his list of countries needing leadership change. The US imposed a trade embargo against Cuba 66 years ago, when Cuban rebels led by Fidel Castro, who came to power, expropriated the property of American companies.

Growing Dissatisfaction

Public displays of dissatisfaction are very rare in Cuba, although its constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression.

In recent weeks, some Cubans have started to bang pots and pans in the evenings in city streets or in their homes as a sign of protest against the ongoing situation. Most of these actions take place in Havana.

Last week, a group of students protested at the University of Havana, expressing dissatisfaction that the energy crisis was hindering their education. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called people's complaints "legitimate," but noted that he would not tolerate "violence and vandalism that threaten tranquility."

He wrote on platform X that constant power outages understandably cause people's fatigue, but attributed them to the US blockade. According to him, Washington "has brutally intensified it in recent months."

On Thursday, Havana announced that following negotiations with the Vatican, it would release 51 prisoners as a gesture of goodwill. The Vatican has previously mediated talks between Cuba and the US. Hours before the announcement of the prisoner release, Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed that Havana was holding talks with the US, but said almost nothing about their content.

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