HAVANA: Activists, journalists and relatives of jailed dissidents say they were briefly detained or prevented from leaving their homes by state security agents Tuesday on the anniversary of the “Maleconazo,” the largest protest Fidel Castro faced during his rule.
On August 5, 1994, hundreds of people took to the streets of Havana’s Malecon waterfront to protest, an event that triggered the rafter crisis during which many Cubans fled by sea to the United States.
The government attributed the protests to incitement by Radio Marti, a Washington-funded station that broadcasts news into Cuba.
Nearly five years after Castro’s death, historic protests shook the island on July 11, 2021, when thousands took to the streets, resulting in one death, dozens injured and hundreds arrested. Many protesters remain behind bars.
The government claims those marches were also orchestrated by Washington.
