“Those poor people have been under that dictator quite too long and have had enough. Please let's show some support as Caymanians for the Cuban People. They deserve democracy.”soscub
Cuban in Cayman
(CMR) Cubans in Cayman protested by the Governor's residence on West Bay Road to show their solidarity with thousands of Cubans in their native country Sunday afternoon. The protest ranged through numerous cities in Cuba including Havana, San Antonio de los Baños and Santiago.
There were also reports of the South Florida Cuban American community joining taking to the streets of Miami outside the famous Versailles Restaurant causing the restaurant to close.
They are calling for the island nation's decades-old after basic quality continues to deteriorate with a lack of medicine, food and low wages. Residents have been enduring power outages for a week it was also reported.
#SOSCuba has been trending across Twitter to also show support for the movement. Social media videos have been spreading with the protesting shouting “Freedom” and asking the Cuban president to step down.
In Cayman, CMR received some feedback from several people who shared that the protest was important. They noted that the average monthly salary in 2021 is still roughly USD $25.00 – $45.00 with a pound of rice costing about USD $4.00. They also shared that:
“There is no medicine, no food please help shed light on what is happening as the Cuban Communist Government is trying to not let the rest of the world know what's happening.”
The Miami Dade PD was supporting the demonstration by ensuring that all participants were safe and posted a notice on their Twitter feed:
The area between S.W. 32-37 Avenue on 8th Street is being secured by @MiamiPD in support of a demonstration and to ensure the safety of all participants. Please avoid the area and definitely as we continue monitoring. @ArtAcevedo pic.twitter.com/jUt4wjQ8KE
— Miami PD (@MiamiPD) July 11, 2021
In a tweet, City of Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo wrote, “This area will be secured by @MiamiPD in support of a long-oppressed people.”
The outbreak is compounded as the country struggles with a COVID-19 outbreak along with a two-year-old economic crisis that the Community government has struggled to address. They have blamed that countries issues on the U.S. sanctions and the pandemic.
The country's tourism sector has been negatively impacted because of the COVID-19 travel restrictions. Their economy contracted 10.9% in 2020. A recent surge in COVID-19 deaths this year continues to rise with a record single-day increase being reported on Saturday with 6,900 new cases and 47 deaths.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who also heads the Communist Party, blamed the United States for the unrest in a nationally televised speech on Sunday afternoon. Reports are that special forces were observed in jeeps mounted with machine guns on the back patrolling the capital city of Havana with the president calling on his supporters to confront those protesting.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
