Cuban authorities have banned a series of marches that were aimed at destabilizing the country, claiming that the organizers are linked to groups financed by the U.S. government. It said that the demonstrations were set to be held in several provinces including Havana, Villa Clara, and Las Tunas.
The actions, which were planned for Nov. 15, were rejected as a threat to public order and a breach of the nation’s constitution. A letter handed to the organizers said permission had been denied as the planned actions were “a provocation, and part of a regime-change strategy for Cuba, tested in other countries.”
Authorities said that those behind the demonstrations were linked to “subversive organizations or agencies financed by the U.S. government [and] have the manifest intention of promoting a change of political system in Cuba.”
Havana municipal official Alexis Acosta accused Washington of deploying a similar strategy to the one it deployed in Bolivia “with the coup against President Evo Morales.”
“As soon as the march was announced, it received the public support of U.S. lawmakers, politicians, and media that encourage actions against the Cuban people and call for military intervention in our country,” he noted.
The Facebook group of Archipelago, one of the leading organizations calling for anti-government activities next month, insisted that its plans were peaceful. It said that it was rallying for civil liberties and an amnesty for those jailed during riots that rocked the socialist island in July.
But most of its 20,000 members are believed to live outside the country, plotting to oust Cuba’s progressive government from beyond its borders. The demonstrations were also backed by the opposition Cuban Christian Democratic Party, the leadership of which is based in Miami.
Protests in Cuba this summer boosted Washington’s thirst for regime change, prompting President Joe Biden to express supposed concern over human rights. But many of the anti-government voices, amplified through mainstream press organizations around the world, are linked to the U.S. government via the shady National Endowment for Democracy.
Funding for dissidents has increased through projects, such as “Empowering Cuban Hip-Hop Artists as Leaders in Society,” which is channeling cash to art and cultural projects across the country.
Money is also funneled towards artists, journalists, and bloggers via the U.S. State Department, the United States Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
In July, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez called for airstrikes on Cuba and other military intervention—indicating that a cultural and economic war is not enough for some in the U.S.
Biden’s supposed support of the Cuban people has not extended to lifting the six-decade blockade which some estimates suggest has cost the Cuban economy in excess of $1 trillion.
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