Five individuals were taken into custody in Cuba on accusations of “vandalism” after a handful of demonstrators forced entry into a provincial office of the Cuban Communist Party and set fire to computers and furniture.
The episode, which also impacted a pharmacy and another shop, occurred in the town of Morón, a little over 300 miles (500 km) east of Havana.
Footage posted online shows the protesters ransacking the building, removing paperwork, equipment and furnishings, and igniting the items on the street. A smaller contingent also hurled stones.
“What began peacefully, after an exchange with local authorities, deteriorated into vandalism against the municipal committee headquarters of the Communist Party,” the state‑run newspaper Invasor reported, adding that five people had been detained.
Although demonstrations are uncommon in Cuba, the nation is coping with a U.S. oil blockade and heightened pressure from the United States, where President Donald Trump has openly expressed a desire for regime change in Havana.
Lately, citizens have taken to banging pots and pans at night in streets or homes to vent frustration over shortages of food and medicine.
Residents also endure frequent rolling power outages that can last up to 15 hours a day.
Independent outlets and social‑media posts indicate that Havana is the focal point of these recent nightly protests, which are now spreading to other regions of the country.
On Friday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz‑Canel confirmed for the first time that he was holding talks with the U.S. government.
Díaz‑Canel said no petroleum shipments have reached Cuba in the past three months and blamed the U.S. oil blockade for the shortfall. He noted the island is now running on a mix of natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants.
Trump has stated that Cuba will be next on his agenda after the conflict in Iran and the U.S. removal of Cuba’s chief ally, Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, in January.
Cuba had relied on Venezuela for oil, and Trump, who claims to wield influence over Caracas, has cut off that supply.
The oil embargo has pushed Cuba’s already strained economy to the brink of collapse.
The Republican leader has placed the impoverished island under a U.S. oil blockade, choking its fuel supply on the grounds of what he described as an “extraordinary threat” posed by Cuba to the United States.
This adds to a six‑decade‑old U.S. trade embargo.
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