Cubans are chanting “power and food” during protests due to power outages and food shortages throughout Cuba.
Cubans are without power for up to 10 hours a day. Abel Santamaria resident Yoni Mena told Reuters, “Living without electricity is primitive.… The mosquitoes, the heat, sometimes there is no water. People are losing their minds. And that leads to other problems, like violence.” Santiago’s Luz Perez stated, “I love Cuba. But this situation is terrible. No one can live like this.”
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel blamed U.S. sanctions, telling NBC News, “We are free, sovereign and independent, and we are going to continue building our revolution, despite the tightening of the blockade, despite the fact that we have been included on a spurious list that can only be invented by a government as genocidal and as hegemonic as the government of the United States.”
Díaz-Canel accused the U.S. blockade of being genocidal, stating on X, “We thank the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and our brother Ralph Gonsalves, for the donation of flour they sent to #Cuba to help alleviate the difficult situation we face as a result of #BloqueoGenocida from the United States government. #CubaNoEstáSola”
