RARE PROTEST: CUBANS DEFY COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT (3:30pmET)
ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images
By Patrick Oppmann and Tatiana Arias, CNN
Thousands of Cubans took to the streets on Sunday to protest a lack of food and medicine as the country undergoes a grave economic crisis aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic and US sanctions.
Demonstrators complained about a lack of freedom and the worsening economic situation during the rare protests, according to people who spoke to CNN and videos from multiple cities, including capital Havana.
Many chanted for “freedom” and called for President Miguel Díaz-Canel to step down.
Multiple protesters were arrested by police, who used tear gas to break up some demonstrations. In Havana, a CNN team witnessed demonstrators being forcibly arrested and thrown into the back of vans by police officers. There were also violent clashes, where protesters turned over a police car and threw rocks at officers.
Tuesday, 13 Jul 2021 07:10 AM MYT
Venezuela s opposition leader Juan Guaido greets people, in Caracas, Venezuela July 12, 2021. Reuters pic
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CARACAS, July 13 Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said yesterday that unidentified armed men had “threatened” him with arrest at his apartment building, and an opposition spokesman said a close Guaido ally had been arrested.
Since 2019, Guaido has been recognised by dozens of countries, including the United States, as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state on the basis that socialist President Nicolas Maduro rigged his 2018 re-election. Maduro, who retains the support of the military and denies that the election was rigged, has labeled Guaido a US puppet and has accused him of conspiring to oust him in a coup.
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Venezuela announces terrorism charges against Guaido ally after highway arrest
Venezuela s opposition leader Juan Guaido gestures, in Caracas, Venezuela on Monday.
CARACAS Venezuelan prosecutors on Monday said they had charged opposition politician Freddy Guevara with terrorism and treason, among other allegations, after the country s intelligence service arrested him from his car on a Caracas highway. Guevara is a close ally of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized as the South American country s legitimate president by the United States and others. Guaido said unidentified armed men threatened him with arrest earlier on Monday as he left his apartment in an effort to assist Guevara.