Almost two months without receiving supplies: Residents of Palma Soriano protest in front of their neighborhood store due to delays.

A complaint from a Cuban citizen sent to the CiberCuba editorial office reported on the serious delays being experienced by users at a ration store in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba, who have still not been supplied with the food sold by the government through the ration book system.

Almost 20 days have passed in the month of June, and the users of the "El Alba" ration store are still waiting for the rationed basic basket of goods for the month of May. The neighbors' patience has reached its limit, and this Tuesday a group of them gathered in front of the establishment to protest and demand that the rationed food be sold to them.

A multitude of consumers went to demand at the store called "El Alba," located at Camilo Cienfuegos and 10 de Octubre, in Palma Soriano, the groceries from last month that have not arrived yet and there is no response," explained the source who sent images of the neighborhood protest to this editorial office.

According to their words, the neighbors gathered demanding justice and food. "No more abuse, no more lies, no more misery, we are hungry," were the words heard in Palma Soriano. CiberCuba received visual testimony of the neighborhood protests.

"The director and his accomplices from the Commerce Department in this municipality arrived at the scene right away. The director, who owns two motorcycles and two houses, arrived stating that the supplies are there, but the issue is the rains preventing their transportation. What audacity there is in this country! Immediately after, State Security arrived searching for the leader of the protests," the neighbor stated in his complaint.

With over 120 thousand inhabitants (2020), the municipality of Palma Soriano in Santiago was one of the most active during the historic protests on July 11, 2021, in Cuba (11J), which is why many of its residents were brutally repressed and sentenced to long prison terms.

Protesters from the 11th of July in that locality were sentenced to up to 12 years of deprivation of liberty, as it was known in May 2022.

"What they have done to those young men is unspeakable. Rigged trials, full of lies," said the mother of activist Daniel Fernández Álvarez, who was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Among the most remembered scenes of those days is the outburst of a crowd of Cubans who shouted "murderer" at the Commander of the Revolution, Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, when he visited the town in the midst of the massive protests.

"Assassin, you are killing us with hunger," a person was heard saying in a video published by independent press, in which Valdés could be seen walking among the group of protesters, surrounded by soldiers.

"They hit us!" the crowd also reported, before starting to repeat the cry of "Freedom" as the communist leader was leaving.

Days later, in August 2021, Valdés decorated two repressors who acted against the protesters in Palma Soriano. In a ceremony, the former Minister of the Interior awarded the Distinguished Service distinction to Lieutenant Julio Cesar Sotomayor Lora and First Subofficer Felipe Aparicio Santiesteban, both from the Provincial Traffic Unit, "for their brave attitude in confronting the events of that day," as reported by Granma newspaper.

In mid-March 2023, Palma Soriano witnessed the appearance of a sign painted against the ruler Miguel Diaz-Canel, urging him to step down from power.

"Hand over the country," read the message to the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), accompanied by the already popular phrase "Díaz-Canel is screwed."

Immersed in an unprecedented crisis, the Cuban regime still cannot guarantee the limited products of the basic family basket that it sells in a rationed manner. Accumulated delays, partial deliveries, reduced established quantities...: the problems of the Ministry of Internal Trade (MINCIN) are accumulating.

"We haven't been able to meet our commitments, but oh well... we have the rest of the year to do so," said Betsy Díaz Velázquez, head of the MINCIN, at the beginning of June during the presentation of the accountability report to the President of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP), Esteban Lazo Hernández.