The United States is “continuing to monitor the situation closely in Cuba,” where, as State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel noted, “Protests erupted across several cities that were calling for electricity, food, and fundamental freedoms.” The United States, he said, urges “the Cuban government to refrain from violence and unjust detentions, and [we] are calling on the authorities to respect the Cuban citizens’ right to peaceful assembly.”
The mid-March protests in Cuban cities and other localities were the largest anti-government demonstrations since July 2021. During those demonstrations, tens of thousands of Cubans took to the streets. Instead of welcoming the voices of the people, Cuban authorities sentenced hundreds to decades-long prison terms. Human rights organizations estimate that over 1,000 political prisoners remain behind bars in Cuba.
Now the economic situation is so dire — with raging inflation as well as food, fuel and medicine shortages — Cubans are willing to publicly voice their disapproval and distress once again, in spite of the regime’s history of repression and retaliation.
In a speech at Florida International University in early March, U.S. Assistant Secretary Brian Nichols noted that “the Cuban people are facing among the most difficult and dire political, economic, and social circumstances since Fidel Castro came to power. Analysts suggest the economic situation is worse even than the so-called Special Period of the 1990s, and the human rights situation is grimmer than it has been for decades.” He noted that the desperation that led to the 2021 protests also led to hundreds of thousands of people leaving Cuba.
“The Cuban government is quick to blame others for its economic woes without acknowledging the decades of mismanagement that led to the current crisis,” said Assistant Secretary Nichols. “We continue to call on the Cuban government to put in place economic policies that would improve the country’s situation, such as greater freedom for private sector actors and much-needed agricultural reforms.”
After the mid-March protests, Assistant Secretary Nichols wrote on the social media platform X, “The United States stands with the Cuban people as they exercise their rights to assemble peacefully. The Cuban government will not be able to meet the needs of its people until it embraces democracy and the rule of law and respects the rights of Cuban citizens.”
