Cuban police suppressed a protest in Boyeros on Tuesday against the blackouts, which have now lasted for six days in some areas of the capital.
Reports from La Hora de Cuba indicate that at 9:00 am, a group of residents on 5th Street between A and B, in the municipality of Boyeros, blocked Boyeros Avenue in protest of the power outage.
The protesters pointed out that the situation has become unbearable. "Our food has gone bad and we have no access to drinking water. It's inhumane to live like this, especially when there's a business just across the street that has electricity," said one of the protesters, clearly upset about the disparity in services.
Additionally, some workers from the well-known fair at 100 and Boyeros confirmed the incident, mentioning that the protesters blocked not only the avenue but also one of the main routes that connects to the 100 bridge.
The response from the repressive organs of the Cuban government was swift. Witnesses indicated that the protesters were assaulted by the police. "We saw how they were beating those who were protesting," recounted a local worker quoted by the independent media.
At 11:30 a.m., the block where the protest took place was closed off with emergency tape, and agents from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) were stationed on the sidewalk, while motorcycles from the Technical Investigations Department (DTI) patrolled the street.
Brigades from the Electric Union (UNE) were also deployed in the area.
This protest comes just days after statements from the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, who, in a conference through the presidency's office, threatened the population that his government would not tolerate "provocations" or "disruptions to public order."
This morning, there was also a strong police presence at La Esquina de Tejas in El Cerro due to a woman protesting against the ongoing blackout in Havana.
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