{"id":16201,"date":"2026-05-15T12:32:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/?p=16201"},"modified":"2026-05-15T12:32:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:32:29","slug":"protests-in-cuba-venting-or-surrender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/protests-in-cuba-venting-or-surrender\/","title":{"rendered":"Protests in Cuba: Venting or Surrender?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"penci-header-wrap\">\n<header id=\"header\" class=\"header-header-6 has-bottom-line\">\n<div id=\"navigation-sticky-wrapper\" class=\"sticky-wrapper is-sticky\">\n<nav id=\"navigation\" class=\"header-layout-bottom header-6 menu-style-3\" role=\"navigation\">\n<div class=\"container container-1400\">\n<div id=\"logo\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"top-search\" class=\"penci-top-search pcheader-icon top-search-classes\"><i class=\"penciicon-magnifiying-glass\"><\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"show-search pcbds-showup\">\n<div class=\"penci-search-form penci-search-form\">\n<form class=\"pc-searchform searchform  penci-ajax-search\" role=\"search\" action=\"https:\/\/www.radiohc.cu\/en\/\" autocomplete=\"off\" method=\"get\" data-thumbnail=\"1\" data-price=\"1\" data-post_type=\"post\" data-count=\"10\" data-sku=\"1\" data-symbols_count=\"3\">\n<div class=\"pc-searchform-inner pc-eajxsearch\"><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"penci-single-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"penci-single-block inview\">\n<div class=\"container container-single penci_sidebar two-sidebar penci-enable-lightbox\">\n<div id=\"main\" class=\"penci-main-sticky-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"theiaStickySidebar\">\n<article id=\"post-54383\" class=\"post type-post status-publish inview\">\n<div class=\"post-image\"><a role=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiohc.cu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/122687-protestas-en-cuba-desahogo-o-rendicion.jpg\" data-rel=\"penci-gallery-image-content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-penci-full-thumb size-penci-full-thumb penci-lazy wp-post-image pc-singlep-img lazyloaded pcloaded\" title=\"122687-protestas-en-cuba-desahogo-o-rendicion\" src=\"https:\/\/www.radiohc.cu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/122687-protestas-en-cuba-desahogo-o-rendicion.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 585px, 585px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.radiohc.cu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/122687-protestas-en-cuba-desahogo-o-rendicion.jpg 585w,https:\/\/www.radiohc.cu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/122687-protestas-en-cuba-desahogo-o-rendicion.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 585px, 585px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.radiohc.cu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/122687-protestas-en-cuba-desahogo-o-rendicion.jpg 585w,https:\/\/www.radiohc.cu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/122687-protestas-en-cuba-desahogo-o-rendicion.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.radiohc.cu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/122687-protestas-en-cuba-desahogo-o-rendicion.jpg\" data-ll-status=\"loaded\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-entry blockquote-style-1 \">\n<div id=\"penci-post-entry-inner\" class=\"inner-post-entry entry-content\">\n<p>Guant\u00e1namo.- In this new episode of \u201cMiami Fake,\u201d a Cubainformaci\u00f3n program dedicated to analyzing fake news and the media war against Cuba, we review how various media outlets funded by the United States government attempt to manipulate the reality of the island to justify Washington\u2019s policy of blockade, economic strangulation, and interference.\u00a0 From the protests sparked by the oil embargo to the campaigns against Cuban medical cooperation, and including the media cult of figures like Marco Rubio and Donald Trump, the program dismantles the narratives of a network of media outlets based primarily in Miami that presents a coordinated propaganda strategy against Cuba as \u201cindependent journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>1. Protests on the Island Generated by the Oil Blockade Are \u201cAgainst the Regime\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anti-Cuban media outlets funded by the United States government have attempted to portray the protests and expressions of discontent that have occurred in some neighborhoods of Havana and Santiago de Cuba as a supposed political rebellion \u201cagainst the regime,\u201d deliberately concealing the main cause of these social tensions: the extreme intensification of the economic blockade and, especially, the current oil blockade imposed by Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Cubanet ran the headline \u201cHavana Can\u2019t Take It Anymore: Protests Erupt in the Cuban Capital,\u201d while Peri\u00f3dico Cubano published \u201cProtests Erupt in Havana Over Blackouts: Pot-Banging, Blocked Streets, and Burning Garbage,\u201d asserting that \u201cthe protests demonstrate that social patience is running out in the face of a regime that fails to guarantee basic services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For its part, Asere Noticias reported in \u201cResidents of San Miguel del Padr\u00f3n Protest in Front of the Government Over Blackouts\u201d that \u201ccitizen discontent is growing as the regime insists on justifying the crisis with external factors,\u201d while 14ymedio asserted in \u201cIn Broad Daylight, Residents of San Miguel del Padr\u00f3n Protest and Demand Electricity\u201d that demanding \u201celectricity and food\u201d amounts to \u201cpointing out the failure of a state\u201d that \u201ccan\u2019t even guarantee light.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, neither of these media outlets explains that Cuba is suffering brutal financial and energy persecution, designed precisely to prevent fuel from reaching the country. The oil blockade imposed by Washington aims to cut off all sources of supply, sanctioning ships, companies, and insurers, with the explicit objective of provoking blackouts, desperation, and social unrest.<\/p>\n<p>The media outlet elTOQUE even went so far as to publish openly inflammatory articles such as \u201cHavana and Santiago protest at night: they burn trash and shout \u2018down with Canel\u2019,\u201d asserting that \u201cthe Cuban people are angry\u201d and that \u201cCuban destiny ignites and awakens with every pot that clangs in the darkness of the night.\u201d This was language of blatant political and emotional agitation, aimed at legitimizing scenarios of destabilization.<\/p>\n<p>And then the usual Washington-funded \u201cNGOs\u201d enter the scene. Cubanet, in \u201cProtests in Bah\u00eda, Marianao, and Diez de Octubre shook Havana this Tuesday,\u201d quoted Cubalex, a US-funded organization, which denounced an alleged \u201csocial militarization.\u201d Meanwhile, Cubans Around the World published \u201cThe Castro regime trembles: Cubans tired of misery protest in San Miguel del Padr\u00f3n,\u201d giving voice to another \u201cNGO\u201d supported by White House funds, the Cuban Observatory of Social Conflict, which \u201cdocumented a sustained increase in protests in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The same article celebrated that \u201cthe United States continues to exert pressure in order to achieve change.\u201d In other words, they openly acknowledge that Washington is applying economic pressure measures against Cuba and, at the same time, hold the Cuban government solely responsible for the social consequences of those measures.<\/p>\n<p>2. Sanctions against investors and destruction of all sources of foreign currency, but the blame lies with the \u201cregime\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The economic war against Cuba includes the systematic persecution of any source of income for the country and any foreign company that maintains economic relations with the island.<\/p>\n<p>ADN Cuba celebrated that, thanks to the sanctions approved by Trump this month, the Canadian company \u201cSherritt is suspending operations in Cuba and will evacuate its workers from the island,\u201d while Cuba Noticias 360 noted in \u201cSherritt\u2019s departure from Cuba opens a new stage of economic uncertainty on the island\u201d that the Cuban economic situation \u201cmay be the most difficult, and the last.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But these media outlets never explain the context: Washington\u2019s ongoing policy of sanctions and threats against any foreign investor operating in Cuba. Canadian, European, and Latin American companies face constant pressure, financial sanctions, and obstacles to their operations. In fact, Trump has given all foreign companies one month to withdraw from the Cuban economy if they don\u2019t want their assets in the U.S. frozen.<\/p>\n<p>Mart\u00ed Noticias published \u201cThe Loot and Faces of GAESA, the Kleptocratic Heart of the Cuban Regime,\u201d reproducing statements by Marco Rubio, who asserted that the U.S. sanctions GAESA because \u201cit appropriates everything that generates money in Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The article repeated the official U.S. narrative that the sanctions aim to prevent the Cuban government from accessing financial resources. But therein lies the key: Washington seeks to destroy all of Cuba\u2019s sources of foreign currency, from tourism to remittances, including international medical agreements, which are the heart of the island\u2019s public budget and the foundation of public health, education, culture, and housing construction.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Asere Noticias published (and celebrated) that \u201cMore than 40 Cuban doctors remain in Jamaica after the end of the agreement with Havana.\u201d Washington\u2019s campaign against Cuban medical cooperation aims to eliminate one of the main sources of income for Cuba\u2019s public health system. Then, these same media outlets blame the \u201cregime\u201d for the health and economic deterioration caused by these very sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>3. The savior arrives: the same one who has destroyed Cuba\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n<p>The same US officials responsible for tightening the blockade to its maximum extent are now presented by these media outlets as supposed \u201csaviors\u201d of the Cuban people.<\/p>\n<p>ADN Cuba published \u201cTrump: \u2018Cuba is asking for help and we\u2019re going to talk,\u2019\u201d also recalling that the president had described the island as \u201ca failed state.\u201d Peri\u00f3dico Cubano reported \u201cRubio says Cuba is trapped: \u2018With the current rulers, it\u2019s impossible to prosper,\u2019\u201d quoting Rubio\u2019s statement: \u201cCuba shouldn\u2019t be poor\u201d and \u201cpeople shouldn\u2019t be going hungry.\u201d When he is the number one culprit!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an extraordinary exercise in cynicism: those who design and implement a policy of economic strangulation that causes blackouts, shortages, and social deterioration then appear lamenting the consequences of that same policy.<\/p>\n<p>4. No blockade: frozen chicken is back! One of the favorite arguments of these media outlets is to deny the impact of the embargo by showing that the US sells certain agricultural products to Cuba under a small, conditional humanitarian license from 2000.<\/p>\n<p>Diario de Cuba published, \u201cDespite the bilateral conflict, US sales to Cuba are worth millions and include surfboards,\u201d highlighting that US exports amounted to almost $490 million.<\/p>\n<p>What they conceal is that these sales are subject to absolutely exceptional conditions: Cuba must pay in cash, in advance, and without access to international credit, precisely because of the US financial sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the volume of trade with Cuba is minuscule compared to other countries in the region. While the Dominican Republic trades close to $7 billion with the US under normal conditions, Cuba is subjected to a regime of financial strangulation and banking persecution unparalleled in the world.<\/p>\n<p>But anti-Cuban propaganda once again resorts to the old \u201cfrozen chicken\u201d argument to deny the existence and devastating effects of the embargo.<\/p>\n<p>5. The Obligatory Letter: In Search of Traitorous Military Officers<\/p>\n<p>A common element in the anti-Cuban propaganda strategy is the open call for a fracturing of the Cuban Armed Forces.<\/p>\n<p>The Cuban newspaper Peri\u00f3dico Cubano published \u201cFormer General Rafael del Pino Sends Harsh Message to Cuban Military: \u2018The Enemy Is Within\u2019,\u201d while Mart\u00ed Noticias disseminated \u201cFormer Cuban General Calls on Military Officers Not to Shed Blood to Defend GAESA and the Castro Family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This latter article asserted that \u201cthe United States could collaborate with a new generation of military officers willing to protect the people\u201d and explicitly encouraged \u201cremoving the ruling elite from power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words, media outlets funded by the U.S. government openly promote a scenario of military rupture and regime change in Cuba, while presenting these propaganda operations as mere exercises in \u201cindependent journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Team: Jos\u00e9 Manzaneda, Egoitz Santos, Hafed Mohamed Bachir.<\/p>\n<p>IMAGE CREDIT: Cover photo: Peri\u00f3dico de Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>[ SOURCE: www.cubainformacion.tv ]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Guant\u00e1namo.- In this new episode of \u201cMiami Fake,\u201d a Cubainformaci\u00f3n program dedicated to analyzing fake news and the media war against Cuba, we review how various media outlets funded by the United States government attempt to manipulate the reality of the island to justify Washington\u2019s policy of blockade, economic strangulation, and interference.\u00a0 From the protests [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guantanamo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16201"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16204,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16201\/revisions\/16204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioguantanamo.icrt.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}