Mass Demonstration in Front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana Demanding the Lifting of the Blockade on Cuba

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans, led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel and former President Raúl Castro, demonstrated in front of the United States Embassy in Havana on Friday, demanding the lifting of the U.S. blockade, just a month before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

The demonstrators marched in front of the embassy building on Malecón Avenue under the slogan “The people’s march against the blockade and Cuba’s inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.”

Díaz-Canel told the demonstrators, who were waving Cuban flags: “We are marching to ask the U.S. government to allow the Cuban people to live in peace.” The protesters chanted, “Lift the blockade,” and “We are not terrorists, remove us from the list.”

According to authorities, 700,000 people participated in the march, led by the current president and his predecessor, Castro (93 years old), who ruled the country from 2006 to 2021 following the succession of his brother Fidel.

Rogelio Savini (55 years old), a transport company official, told Agence France-Presse: “We want to end the blockade… We need the restrictions lifted so that we can trade with all countries.”

Fustino Miranda (85 years old) pointed out, “If there were no blockade, we wouldn’t be facing such enormous difficulties.”

Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in thirty years, with shortages of goods, power outages, and an unprecedented wave of migration.

Díaz-Canel said: “When financial dealings are targeted and undermined… the Cuban people are deprived of food, medicine, fuel, goods, and supplies necessary for their survival.”

The elected U.S. President Trump, who will officially take office on January 20, had ended the open-door policy toward Cuba during his first term (2017-2021), which had been initiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama. The Republican implemented 243 measures to tighten the blockade that has been in place since 1962, including re-listing the communist country on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, which includes Iran and North Korea.

His successor, Democrat Joe Biden, kept Cuba on the list and did not make substantial changes to the sanctions imposed on the country, further undermining financial and commercial flows to the island.

Díaz-Canel confirmed that 2024 “has been one of the toughest years” for Cuba, which is living “day by day.”