The Cuban government has held a mass rally in Havana following protests by Reuters

By Nelson Acosta

HAVANA (Reuters) – Raul Castro was at a government rally in Havana on Saturday to denounce the US trade embargo and reaffirm his support for the Cuban revolution after unprecedented protests rocked the communist country.

Supporters of the government gathered on the boulevard of the city’s waterfront before dawn to wave Cuban flags and photos of Fidel Castro, a revolutionary, and his brother Raul. The latter retired as leader of the Communist Party in April, but promised to continue fighting for the revolution as a “walking soldier.”

The rally exploded internationally last Sunday https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/street-protests-break-out-cuba-2021-07-11 due to the widespread shortage of basic goods in the face of demonstrations. political rights and the worst outbreak of coronavirus since the island nation’s pandemic began.

The government https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cuba-lifts-food-medicine-customs-restrictions-after-protests-2021-07-15 has approved some shortcomings this week, but mostly https: // www. .reuters.com / world / americas / cubas-president-blames-discontent-us-sanctions-2021-07-12 US-funded protests against “counterrevolutionaries” taking advantage of the economic hardships caused by U.S. sanctions.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who is also the leader of the Communist Party, told the people that Cuba “has once again thrown the enemy to destroy the sacred unity and tranquility of its citizens.”

He said it is not uncommon to call for concentration given the country’s growing number of COVID cases: “We have called on you to denounce the blockade, the attacks and the panic again.”

Authorities said similar rallies were held nationwide.

“This revolution will continue for a long time,” State Social Worker Margaritza Arteaga said at a rally in Havana.

He said workers were called by neighborhood block committees, the Revolutionary Defense Committee, and were picked up by a state bus at 4 p.m.

Before the official rally in Havana began, authorities removed a man from the crowd shouting slogans against the “freedom” of the internal government.

The number of people arrested during or after the protests has risen as new reports have been leaked, including irregular interruptions https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-unrest-idAFKBN2EJ218 The state has had a monopoly on telecommunications on the island where the state has had Internet and messaging applications.

The last amounts of the Cubalex exiled rights group were 450 detainees, although some have been released. Activists have accused the authorities of cracking down on several social networks for beating police protesters.

The government has not yet released official data on the detainees, but said it has arrested anyone suspected of creating patriotic unrest or committing vandalism. State television has broadcast images of people looting controversial Cuban dollar stores and overturning empty police cars.