Hundreds, if not thousands of Cubans are launching historic street protests against the Communist government after fuel prices were increased by 500 percent, leading to rolling blackouts across the country. Over the weekend, frustrated citizens waved their country’s flag as they marched through the streets of several major cities, demanding a solution to the ongoing economic crisis. 

The crisis began earlier this year when the Cuban government made the decisions to increase fuel prices by 500 percent, citing a lack of fuel imports. According to Reuters, the government has been cutting power to three-quarters of the population during peak hours due to the energy crisis. 

One restaurant owner, Jaime Carrillo, told the outlet that his establishment is suffering from at least two four-hour blackouts every single day. “Blackouts always complicate your daily work,” he told Reuters. “For example, liquids and meats suffer from defrosting in refrigerators.”

The state has also cut mobile internet service in an effort to quash grassroots organizing of more protests. According to the Wall Street Journal, the cut to phone service has not stopped citizens from marching through the streets and banging pots and pans together to protest the government’s policies. 

American officials have been quick to call for government restraint as Cubans take to the streets. The American embassy in Cuba called on the government to respect the freedom to protest. The mayor of Miami, who is the son of a Cuban immigrant, said on X that Cuba is continuing its practice of viciously punishing the average citizen for political leaders’ mistakes.

“Once again, Cuba’s communist regime is attacking its own people in towns and cities across the island simply because they demand basic human necessities. We stand with our brothers and sisters in Cuba,” Mr. Suarez says. 

Another Cuban-American, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart — whose aunt was once married to Fidel Castro — says Cubans are risking everything for their freedom and their country. “The resilient people of Santiago de Cuba bravely demand essential rights in the face of brutal oppression. The murderous Cuban dictatorship is responsible for egregious human rights abuses, and must be held accountable for its crimes,” the lawmaker wrote on X. 

The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, said on X on Sunday that the situation in his country is a matter for the Cuban government to deal with — not any other country. “Several people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation of electrical service and food distribution. This context is attempted to be taken advantage of by the enemies of the Revolution, for destabilizing purposes,” the president wrote. 

He blamed Americans for the protests erupting in his streets. “In the last few hours we have seen how terrorists based in the US, whom we have denounced on repeated occasions, encourage actions against the internal order of the country,” Mr. Díaz-Canel said. “In the midst of a blockade that aims to suffocate us, we will continue working in peace to get out of this situation.”

Cuba has seen these kinds of protests before, but they have yielded few results for the average Cuban. In 2021, inflation rates in the country reached around 500 percent, fuel subsidies were cut, the government was failing to administer Covid vaccines, and the economy contracted by double digits — all leading to street violence against the government. 

The protests lasted for less than one week, and left one protester dead and hundreds of demonstrators injured. Four police officers were also attacked during the protests. Sister protests were launched across the world in Spain, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Argentina, and Chile, among other locations. 

The protests in 2021 also demonstrated the government’s ability to “disappear” anti-government activists. According to the Spanish civil liberties group Prisoners Defenders, nearly 200 dissidents and protesters vanished in the wake of the demonstrations. The government later told news outlets that some of the more high-profile dissidents, such as one human rights activist and one anti-government artist, were moved to high-security prisons.