Fidel Castro’s brother Raul attends mass government rally in Havana, Cuba after protests
- Raul Castro retired as Communist Party leader in April but promised to continue fighting for the revolution as a ‘foot soldier’
- Thousands attended the rally in Havana on Saturday to denounce the US trade embargo and reaffirm their support for Cuba’s revolution
Raul Castro was among thousands who attended a government-organised rally in Havana on Saturday to denounce the US trade embargo and reaffirm their support for Cuba’s revolution, a week after unprecedented protests rocked the communist-run country.
Government supporters gathered on the city’s seafront boulevard before dawn to wave Cuban flags and photos of late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and his brother Raul. The latter retired as Communist Party leader in April but promised to continue fighting for the revolution as a “foot soldier”.
The rally was a reaction to demonstrations that erupted nationwide last Sunday amid widespread shortages of basic goods, demands for political rights and the island nation’s worst coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic.
The government admitted some shortcomings this week but mostly blamed the protests on US-financed “counter-revolutionaries” exploiting economic hardship caused by US sanctions.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who also heads the Communist Party, told the crowd that Cuba’s “enemy has once again thrown itself into destroying citizen’s sacred unity and tranquillity.”
He said it was no small matter to call a rally as the country saw increasing numbers of Covid cases: “We convened you to denounce once more the blockade, the aggression and terror.”