The government militarizes neighborhoods in Santiago de Cuba following protests over power outages

The Cuban regime militarized several districts of Santiago de Cuba on Thursday night and early Friday morning to contain the citizen protests against the prolonged blackouts in that city.

The independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada reported on his channels that various repression forces of the regime – such as Black Berets and other Ministry of the Interior (Minint) personnel – were deployed after the people of Santiago started banging pots and demanding the restoration of the electric service.

He explains that there were "small youth protests" in the neighborhoods of Indaya, La Barca de Oro, and Nuevo Vista Alegre.

"Shouts of "Current and Food" in the New Vista Alegre and Conga in Indaya in Santiago de Cuba, the regime sends in the Black Berets," Mayeta Labrada expressed on Facebook.

A post by a regime spokesperson on Facebook acknowledged that there were disturbances. "There were indeed some commotions, between conga and chorus, but nothing serious," wrote the profile close to MININT's "Aris Arias Batalla."

Amid the energy crisis in Cuba, protests have been reported in several provinces. On Tuesday, after intense blackouts in Cienfuegos, dozens of residents from that city took to the streets to protest, banging their pots and pans and chanting and shouting "freedom."

Videos shared on social media showed a crowd of people from Cienfuegos in the streets protesting against the government and demanding the restoration of the electrical service.

There have also been protests in Las Tunas, Baracoa, Camagüey, Pinar del Río, and Matanzas.

The regime recently acknowledged that it expects an increase in citizen protests, especially in the coming summer months.

At the same time, he indicated that the energy situation will not be resolved imminently.