Havana: Cuba has restricted access to social media and messaging platforms, including Facebook, Instagram. WhatsApp and Wire From Monday, global Internet monitoring firm Netblox said Tuesday amid widespread anti-government protests.
London-based Netblocks said on its website that platforms were still partially disrupted in Cuba on Tuesday, which “was likely to limit the flow of information out of Cuba.”
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. neither did Telegram and Facebook Inc., which owns Instagram and WhatsApp. social platform Twitter Inc. said that it did not find any obstruction in its service.
Thousands of Cubans joined demonstrations in cities and towns across the country on Sunday to protest Cuba’s economic crisis and handling of the pandemic, some of which called for an end to communism.
The government has said the demonstrations were organized by US-funded counter-revolutionaries who manipulated frustration from the massive economic crisis caused by a decades-old US trade embargo.
Underscoring the government’s concern, state-run media reported on Tuesday that Ral Castro, who stepped down as head of the ruling Cuban Communist Party in April, called on the Political Bureau on Sunday to address the “provocation”. attended a meeting.
Party leader and president Miguel Diaz-Canel said in April that he would continue to consult with Castro on extremely important matters.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that it would be a “serious mistake” to consider the demonstrations directed by the US and that the government is not listening to the voices of the Cuban people.
Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday that the difficult situation in Cuba was “basically” due to US economic sanctions against the country.
His Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday that he had spoken to his Cuban counterpart to determine what kind of humanitarian aid would help the Caribbean nation.
The protests, rare in a country where public discontent is strictly prohibited, had mostly killed by Sunday evening as more police and military were deployed to the streets and Diaz-Canel urged government supporters to go out and Called to fight for the defense of his revolution. .
A protest broke out in the southern Havana suburb of La Guinera late on Monday, according to video footage obtained by five locals and Reuters.
Hundreds of protesters confronted police, chanting “down with communism” and other anti-government slogans, said two residents, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, saying they had heard gunshots.
About 150 people were arrested during or after the biggest wave of protests in various cities on Sunday, according to exile rights group Cubalex, and so far only 12 have been confirmed to have been released.
“In several inquiries, we made it clear that no one was directing us to take us on the streets from abroad, that no one paid us a centiway to do what we did,” said theater director Unier García, Who was arrested in a protest. Havana wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.
He said he was released on Monday but police officials told him that his investigation was on.
The introduction of mobile internet two and a half years ago is a key factor behind the protests in Cuba, giving Cubans a platform to express their dismay and enabling people to get the word out quickly when they are on the street has gone.
Reuters witnesses in the capital said on Tuesday they still had no mobile data.
Mobile internet outages have increased this year. Network monitoring company Kentik said it saw the entire country offline for less than 30 minutes at around 4 p.m. on Sunday during the peak of the protests in Havana.
Social media platforms are facing increasing demands from governments globally to remove some content, and in some cases their services are being seen banned or restricted during times of protests.
London-based Netblocks said on its website that platforms were still partially disrupted in Cuba on Tuesday, which “was likely to limit the flow of information out of Cuba.”
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. neither did Telegram and Facebook Inc., which owns Instagram and WhatsApp. social platform Twitter Inc. said that it did not find any obstruction in its service.
Thousands of Cubans joined demonstrations in cities and towns across the country on Sunday to protest Cuba’s economic crisis and handling of the pandemic, some of which called for an end to communism.
The government has said the demonstrations were organized by US-funded counter-revolutionaries who manipulated frustration from the massive economic crisis caused by a decades-old US trade embargo.
Underscoring the government’s concern, state-run media reported on Tuesday that Ral Castro, who stepped down as head of the ruling Cuban Communist Party in April, called on the Political Bureau on Sunday to address the “provocation”. attended a meeting.
Party leader and president Miguel Diaz-Canel said in April that he would continue to consult with Castro on extremely important matters.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that it would be a “serious mistake” to consider the demonstrations directed by the US and that the government is not listening to the voices of the Cuban people.
Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday that the difficult situation in Cuba was “basically” due to US economic sanctions against the country.
His Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday that he had spoken to his Cuban counterpart to determine what kind of humanitarian aid would help the Caribbean nation.
The protests, rare in a country where public discontent is strictly prohibited, had mostly killed by Sunday evening as more police and military were deployed to the streets and Diaz-Canel urged government supporters to go out and Called to fight for the defense of his revolution. .
A protest broke out in the southern Havana suburb of La Guinera late on Monday, according to video footage obtained by five locals and Reuters.
Hundreds of protesters confronted police, chanting “down with communism” and other anti-government slogans, said two residents, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, saying they had heard gunshots.
About 150 people were arrested during or after the biggest wave of protests in various cities on Sunday, according to exile rights group Cubalex, and so far only 12 have been confirmed to have been released.
“In several inquiries, we made it clear that no one was directing us to take us on the streets from abroad, that no one paid us a centiway to do what we did,” said theater director Unier García, Who was arrested in a protest. Havana wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.
He said he was released on Monday but police officials told him that his investigation was on.
The introduction of mobile internet two and a half years ago is a key factor behind the protests in Cuba, giving Cubans a platform to express their dismay and enabling people to get the word out quickly when they are on the street has gone.
Reuters witnesses in the capital said on Tuesday they still had no mobile data.
Mobile internet outages have increased this year. Network monitoring company Kentik said it saw the entire country offline for less than 30 minutes at around 4 p.m. on Sunday during the peak of the protests in Havana.
Social media platforms are facing increasing demands from governments globally to remove some content, and in some cases their services are being seen banned or restricted during times of protests.
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