Cuba accuses US of stoking protests amid blackouts and food shortages, summons top diplomat

Cuba has accused the United States of stoking a protest where hundreds of people took to the streets across the island as well as the second-largest city Santiago in a rare public demonstration amid food shortages and blackouts.

The island nation’s foreign ministry summoned US ambassador Benjamin Ziff after Washington made remarks on the protests on Sunday (Mar 17).

US ambassador summoned

Cuba’s foreign ministry on Monday (Mar 18) said it had summoned Ziff and accused the US embassy in Havana of seeking to stoke a broader anti-government uprising.

Late Sunday, the UShad said it was monitoring the protests and called on the Cuban government to “respect the human rights of the protesters and address the legitimate needs of the Cuban people.”

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In response, Cuba’s foreign ministry called US charge d’affaires Ziff to a meeting with deputy foreign minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío, “who formally conveyed his firm rejection of the government’s interventionist behavior and slanderous messages,” said the ministry.

Fernández de Cossío, speaking to The Associated Press, called the comments “disrespectful“ and an “open interference” in the country’s domestic affairs.

He also repeated the communist government’s long-standing accusation, blaming the US and its nearly six-and-a-half-decade-long embargo and sanctions against the island for the issues faced by its citizens.

The US State Department spokespersonsaid it was “absurd” to suggest Washington was behind the protests.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel took to X and seemingly pointed a finger at the US and said that despite its “interventionist messages and calls for chaos” it was unsuccessful.

“Mediocre politicians and networked terrorists lined up from South Florida to heat up the streets of #Cuba with interventionist messages and calls for chaos. They were left wanting,” said Diaz-Canel.

Cuba is witnessing rare protests. What's the issue?

The protest which took place late Sunday was a rare public show of discontent against Cuba’s communist government and was reportedly led by parents struggling to feed their children amid acute food shortages.

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The protests erupted in at least five locations across the island and reportedly started when mothers showed up at a government building and said they could not provide food for their children.

Cuba is facing one of its worst economic and energy crises in years, with power cuts of up to 18 hours a day.

With summer approaching, it is reportedly becoming difficult to preserve what little food people have.

The Caribbean island nation appeared quiet on Monday, reported Reuters news agency, while the government said that it expects the blackouts to continue through the week.

(With inputs from agencies)