Anti-Government riot in Cuba over blackouts

Anti-government protesters stormed a Communist Party office in northern Cuba early Saturday, according to a state-run newspaper, marking a rare flash of open defiance fueled by brutal blackouts made even worse by the U.S. oil blockade.

What started as a peaceful rally against power outages and food shortages in the city of Moron [seriously] late Friday spiraled into violence by early Saturday morning, the Invasor newspaper reported. Social media videos captured a massive fire raging and crowds hurling rocks through building windows while chants of “liberty” echoed in the background.

Reuters could not independently verify the videos, which posters claimed depicted the chaos in Moron, a coastal city roughly 250 miles (400 km) east of Havana, close to the tourist spot Cayo Coco.

The United States has really tightened the screws on Cuba this year, especially after nabbing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January. Maduro has long been Cuba's top foreign sugar daddy.

President Trump shut down Venezuelan oil deliveries to the island and warned any nation selling oil to Cuba could face tariffs, hammering an economy already choking on shortages of food, fuel, electricity, and medicine.

In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly declared that Cuba is teetering on the edge of collapse or desperate for a deal with Washington. On Friday, the Cuban government announced it had kicked off talks with the U.S. to ease the crisis.

Violent public protests remain extremely rare in Cuba. The 2019 constitution supposedly guarantees the right to demonstrate, but a detailed law spelling out how that works is stuck in legislative purgatory, leaving street protesters in a legal gray zone.

"What initially began peacefully, and after an exchange with local authorities, turned into acts of vandalism against the headquarters of the Municipal Party Committee," Invasor reported. "A smaller group of people stoned the entrance of the building and started a fire in the street with furniture from the reception area," it added.

The Moron vandals hit several other state-run spots in the area too, including a pharmacy and a government market, per the report.

One unverified social media clip includes the sound of a gunshot, followed by the camera panning to someone on the ground. State media outlet Vanguardia de Cuba pushed back hard against online claims that police had shot the person.

"The image circulating shows the scene of the protest, but it’s important for the public to know the truth: no one was injured by gunfire," Vanguardia de Cuba posted on X. "Media manipulation seeks to sow fear and confusion among our people. Let's not fall for provocations," it added.

Police rounded up five people, and one drunken protester took a tumble and ended up getting treated for injuries at a local hospital.

Over the past week, small groups in Havana have been banging pots and pans in the streets to protest the endless blackouts.

On Monday, students staged a sit-in on the steps of the University of Havana after the regime canceled in-person classes, blaming the U.S. oil blockade. Fuel shortages have crippled public transportation, turning commutes for teachers and students into a nightmare. Moron also saw major unrest during the huge anti-government riots on July 11, 2021, the biggest challenge to the regime since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

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