Cuba says US responsible for 2021 protests, biggest in decades
Cuba on Monday accused the U.S. government of "direct responsibility" for the protests that rocked the Caribbean island two years ago, marking the largest demonstrations since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.
"The United States has a direct responsibility for the disturbances of July 11 and 12, 2021," the Communist Party-run Granma newspaper said in a front-page editorial ahead of the anniversary of the protests.
The newspaper said people were openly incited and provided with funds from the United States to break the law in acts of robbery and assault - even as Washington strengthened its sanctions. At the same time, Cuba's economy struggled due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Neither the U.S. State Department nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment, though Washington has maintained that the riots were spontaneous and denies having provoked them.
The editorial also denounced a "campaign of disinformation and slander" through social networks.
"Slander promoted by the White House, related to events it sponsored in 2021, is used as a pretext to maintain a policy of maximum pressure against Cuba," it said.
This policy, designed by the administration of Donald Trump, was being "severely applied" by the current administration of President Joe Biden, it added.
In July 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets shouting "freedom" across nearly 50 cities to protest a deepening economic crisis, the worst in three decades.
Frustrated by long lines for food, public transport, fuel and medicine, more than 140,000 Cubans have since October 2021 migrated to the United States, according to U.S. government figures.
The protests were short-lived and Cuban authorities have since sentenced hundreds to prison on charges ranging from public disorder to sedition, prompting calls for human rights violations from activists.
The European Union and the United States have urged the Cuban government to release the protesters.
"More than anything, this edition reflects the state of relations between the United States and Cuba," said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a foreign relations expert at the Autonomous University of Madrid. "A climate conducive to at least reducing tensions over the issue has not been built."
Lopez-Levy said releasing prisoners would be "tough" if the U.S. maintains hostile policies on some fundamental matters.
Two years after the protests, some Cuban emigres have called for events to commemorate the date. Though additional plain-clothed security officials were seen in some parts of the capital on Monday, Havana's streets remained quiet.
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