Cuba summons top US diplomat in Havana after rare spate of protests

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) – Accusing the US of being responsible for weekend protests over economic woes, Cuba on Monday summoned the senior US ambassador on the Caribbean island.

Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cosso formally conveyed to Benjamin Ziff, the US charge d'affaires in Cuba, Havana’s "firm rejection" of the “interventionist behavior” of the US government and its embassy in Cuban internal affairs and blamed its economic blockade for the economic crisis that the island is struggling with.

“Attention was drawn to the direct responsibility of the United States government in the face of the difficult economic situation that Cuba is currently going through, and specifically, in the face of the shortcomings and difficulties that the population faces on a daily basis, with depression and insufficiency of supply and essential services, under the weight and impact of the economic blockade designed to destroy the economic capacity of the country,” the Foreign Ministry said on X.

Rarely-seen protests took place on Sunday amid hours-long blackouts and food shortages. Demonstrations arose in Santiago de Cuba, in nearby El Cobre, in Bayamo, the capital of Granma province, in Santa Marta, near the Varadero beach resort, and in Los Mangos, a neighborhood in the city of Matanzas.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel has accused the US of seeking to overthrow the island's government.

"Mediocre politicians and networked terrorists lined up from South Florida to heat up the streets of Cuba with interventionist messages and calls for chaos," he said on X.

Diaz-Canel said that his government is ready “to attend to the complaints of our people, listen, dialogue, explain the many efforts that are being carried out to improve the situation.”

The US Embassy in Havana "urged" the Cuban government to "respect the human rights of the protestors and address the legitimate needs of the Cuban people."

Cuba has been embroiled in an economic crisis fueled by a decline in tourism since the pandemic, rampant inflation, and tightened US sanctions, all of which have caused shortages in food, medicine, gas, and power.