Havana: Tens of thousands of Cubans demonstrated Friday outside the US Embassy in Havana to decry the killing of 32 Cuban officers in Venezuela and demand that the US government release former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
They crowded into the open-air “José Martí Anti-Imperialist” plaza across from the embassy in a rally organised by the Cuban government as tensions between Cuba and the US spike following the US attack January 3 on Venezuela.
The 32 Cuban officers were part of Maduro’s security detail killed during the raid on his residence in Caracas to seize the former leader and bring him to the US to face drug trafficking charges.
Cuba’s national hymn rang out at Friday’s demonstration as large Cuban flags waved in the chilly wind and big waves broke nearby along Havana’s famed pier. President Miguel Díaz-Canel shook hands with members of the crowd clad in jackets and scarves before speaking to them.
“The current US administration has opened the door to an era of barbarism, plunder and neo-fascism,” he said.
Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela’s oil and money. Experts say the move could have catastrophic consequences since Cuba is already struggling with severe blackouts.
After the President’s speech, the demonstration transitioned into a parade that Cubans call a “combatant march,” a custom that originated during the time of the late leader Fidel Castro. The crowd was led by a line of people holding pictures of the 32 officers killed.
“Down with imperialism!” the crowd yelled. “Cuba will prevail!”
The demonstration was organized a day after tens of thousands of Cubans gathered at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces to pay their respects to the 32 officers slain.
Their remains arrived home on Thursday morning, and they are scheduled to be laid to rest on Friday afternoon in various cemeteries following memorial ceremonies in all of Cuba’s provincial capitals.
