As we previously reported there are thousands out in the streets across Cuba, from small towns to big cities, calling for freedom from the Communist government and chanting “we are not afraid!”
People are saying it’s the largest mass protest since 1959. If you know your Cuban history, that’s the last time the government changed hands — when Fidel Castro took power. So, that’s an incredibly significant thing to say.
I have been covering Cuba since the 1994 rafter crisis. I have never ever seen anything like the protests today. https://t.co/h8Ukuvpfp3
— Frances Robles (@FrancesRobles) July 11, 2021
Carolina Barrero, a Cuban activist, went even further. “It is the most massive popular demonstration to protest the government that we have experienced in Cuba since ’59,” she said by text message, referring to the year Fidel Castro took power. She called the public outpouring on Sunday “spontaneous, frontal and forceful.”
“What has happened is enormous,” she added.
Our Lady of Charity is taking the lead in one town.
Powerful image: South of Havana, in Bejucal, the townspeople bring out la Virgen de la Caridad, the Patroness of Cuba, as the people shout, “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty.” #SOSCuba #VivaCubaLibre #Libertad pic.twitter.com/tgyP0AkQyq
— Jose Felix Diaz (@josefelixdiaz) July 11, 2021
There’s also another powerful symbol that some are waving — the American flag — to them, a symbol of freedom. Imagine if the folks on our left in this country understood that meaning as well these Cubans do.
Freedom in Cuba is symbolized with the American 🇺🇸 flag. #SOSCuba #freedom https://t.co/bw9iLktUXy
— Ileana Garcia (@IleanaGarciaUSA) July 11, 2021
That shows you this is serious, too. Because waving that can get you locked up for awhile — and they’re not afraid.
An order went out to the police to crackdown and shut the protesters down, according to reports.
#Cuba|n police has start to arrest and attack protestors in the streets.
— 🇵🇹 ＭＯＤＥＲＮ ＥＲＡ ＮＥＷＳ ➐ 🇪🇺 (@ModernEraNews) July 11, 2021
But that’s not going particularly well. The people are fighting back, in some places overwhelming police and chasing them away.
🇨🇺 DÍA HISTÓRICO | Los cuerpos represivos castristas intentan controlar al pueblo deseoso de LIBERTAD, pero no lo consiguen. pic.twitter.com/OUJuTXjlTD
— Yusnaby Pérez (@Yusnaby) July 11, 2021
The scenes out of Cuba today — overturned police cars, looted government stores, people throwing rocks at police — are nothing short of astonishing. https://t.co/04BeVQRzh8
— Frances Robles (@FrancesRobles) July 11, 2021
In this one, maybe the best video of all, the police are still there surrounded — and do nothing in response.https://twitter.com/albertodelacruz/status/1414374990053576704
#Cuba 🇨🇺: protesters in the town of Cardenas have reportedly flipped a police car as anti-regime rallies spread across the island. #SOSCuba #PatriaYVida
Source: https://t.co/BDSnno6bhb pic.twitter.com/gQ64T9ECck
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) July 11, 2021
Cuba is awakening. Its government is a dictatorship. #SOSCuba #CubaEsUnaDictadura #PatriaYVida pic.twitter.com/bevUXHAaSz
— Ernesto 🇨🇺 (@gnapse) July 11, 2021
LA FOTO 🇨🇺 #SOSCuba pic.twitter.com/WGgQ8pzJYI
— Yusnaby Pérez (@Yusnaby) July 12, 2021
Continúan llegando imágenes de las protestas el día de hoy… la violencia está escalando lamentablemente.#FuerzaCuba pic.twitter.com/UsIhEurAGb
— Mag Jorge Castro🇨🇺 (@mjorgec1994) July 12, 2021
#Cuba 🇨🇺: unimaginable scenes as protesters are throwing stones at the police.
Anger with the regime clearly runs deep after 62 years of repression. #SOSCuba #PatriaYVida
Source: https://t.co/sbncj5yt1m pic.twitter.com/sxnaAv3SKh
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) July 11, 2021
In at least one case, the police are seeing the writing on the wall and joining the crowds. That’s pretty amazing, all by itself.
The police in Santiago de Cuba join in the protests. See video. We have never seen that happen before. #SOSCuba #VivaCubaLibre pic.twitter.com/bzDEGl9wk9
— Jose Felix Diaz (@josefelixdiaz) July 11, 2021
How are Twitter and some in media reporting this? Upset with food shortages and COVID. They’re leaving out how this is anti-Communism and calling for the fall of the regime.
— Dr. Nickarama (@nickaramaOG) July 11, 2021
Joe Biden has been silent, while a variety of Republican politicians have tweeted their support for the Cuban people.
Florida supports the people of Cuba as they take to the streets against the tyrannical regime in Havana. The Cuban dictatorship has repressed the people of Cuba for decades & is now trying to silence those who have the courage to speak out against its disastrous policies#SOSCuba pic.twitter.com/H71EYoKdUZ
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) July 11, 2021
Remember the scene in “The Godfather,” where Michael Corleone was in Cuba and he told Hyman Roth how he knew that Castro could win in 1959? Because the protesters were unafraid and willing to give their lives. Now, look at this video and realize something like that is happening across Cuba today.
🚨#SOSCuba🚨
Cuban state security dressed in civilian clothes just pulled out a revolver and attacked a peaceful pro-democracy demonstrator.
The brave protestor told him: “Shoot me in the chest, motherfucker!” #PatriaYVida pic.twitter.com/6LkSZFrOeJ
— Giancarlo Sopo (@GiancarloSopo) July 11, 2021
When Pope John Paul II visited Cuba in 1998, he famously told the Cuban people: "Do not be afraid."
I think it's no coincidence that as thousands of Cubans march across the island today, they chant "We are not afraid!" God is with the people of Cuba.#SOSCuba🇨🇺 #PatriaYVida pic.twitter.com/hLl1PIdC3V
— Giancarlo Sopo (@GiancarloSopo) July 11, 2021
Join the conversation as a VIP Member