Protests erupt in Cuba as US embargoes fuel food, energy shortages | Protest news

Officials say the local Communist Party office caught fire during a rare anti-government demonstration on the island.

Protesters in central Cuba have burned down a local Communist Party office as conditions on the island continue to deteriorate under severe United States sanctions aimed at squeezing the economy.

Five people were arrested amid what the government called “savages” in the city of Moran, officials said Saturday.

“What began peacefully, after an exchange with local officials, degenerated into sabotage against the headquarters of the Communist Party’s municipal committee,” state newspaper Invasor said of the incident.

Unverified videos of the incident show protesters storming the office and throwing stones at the burning building. According to news agency Reuters, chants of “freedom” can be heard in one of the videos.

Other government buildings were also reported damaged overnight. Details of the protest and its aftermath remain unclear, but no injuries have been confirmed so far.

Human rights group Justicia11 said gunshots were heard in the area and that one person may have been shot, but the state-run news channel, Vanguardia de Cuba, meanwhile, denied those reports.

Protests are relatively rare in Cuba, given the threat of government repression. But in recent weeks, Cubans have expressed growing frustration over food and power shortages.

Some have taken to banging pots and pans at night – a protest tradition called “cacerolazo” – to express anger at the lack of food. Meanwhile, students at the University of Havana staged a sit-in on Monday after their classes were suspended due to energy restrictions.

As United States President Donald Trump seeks to topple the government in Havana, economic conditions on the island, a longtime target of U.S. ire, have worsened since U.S. President Donald Trump cut off access to oil.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Friday that he had held talks with US officials and that no petroleum shipments had arrived in Cuba for three months.

After the US attack on Venezuela on January 3, Trump ordered the transfer of Venezuelan oil and money to Cuba. That attack culminated in the kidnapping of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who maintained friendly relations with Cuba.

On January 29, Trump issued an executive order that effectively cut off Cuba’s ability to import fossil fuels from other countries. The order threatened economic sanctions against any country that directly or indirectly supplies Cuba with oil.

Cuba’s aging energy grid, however, relies heavily on fossil fuels, as do everyday appliances such as cars and generators.

During remarks earlier this month, Trump said Cuba is “next” after the US war against Iran ends.

“Cuba is at the end of the line,” Trump told a group of Latin American leaders at his Mar-a-Lago estate on March 7.

“As we achieve historic transformation in Venezuela, we look forward to great change coming soon in Cuba.”