One person is dead, and more than 100 are missing in Cuba amid the anti-government protests that reignited over the weekend.
Anti-government protesters have been voicing their disapproval over the lack of food, rising inflation, and the mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic in protests, which have been the largest demonstrations the country has seen in recent history. They demanded President Miguel Diaz-Canel step down.
LAWMAKERS VOICE SUPPORT FOR CUBANS DEMANDING FREEDOM FROM COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT
Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, 36, died in a suburb of Havana on Monday during a clash between police and protesters, according to German broadcaster DW News. The country’s interior ministry confirmed his death and said he attacked officials shortly before he died in the Arroyo Naranjo municipality.
More than 100 people have been arrested or are missing, and at least one is a Spanish journalist, according to Spain Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, who called for her release on Tuesday.
“Spain defends the right to demonstrate freely and peacefully and asks the Cuban authorities to respect it,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in Spanish on Twitter. The journalist’s outlet said that she will be prosecuted for “crimes against the security of the state” in an article detailing her apprehension.
The Cuban government portrayed the unrest as an American operation, a claim the Biden administration has rejected. Diaz-Canel denounced the protesters as “mercenaries” and called on supporters to “defend the revolution.”
“It would be a grievous mistake for the Cuban regime to interpret what is happening in dozens of towns and cities across the island as the result or product of anything the United States has done,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
As dozens of lawmakers released statements showing their support for the Cuban people, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez argued in a Fox News interview that the U.S. should consider “potential military action” against the regime, adding that the use of airstrikes should not be taken off the table.
He later walked back those comments telling the Miami Herald that he’s “not a military expert,” and, “I’m not going to sit here and opine on what kind of military intervention should be used.”
