Minute by minute: protests in Cuba against the government

Images from Havana show that there is a presence of police forces around the Capitol.

Government supporters blocked the apartment of Cuban activist and playwright Yunior García Aguilera in Havana ahead of an opposition protest march scheduled for Monday.

Several of the supporters told CNN that they would not allow him to carry out the march.

There was also a strong police presence that blocked the street in the neighborhood where García Aguilera lives.

In a live feed on Facebook from his apartment Sunday morning, Garcia Aguilera said he was “not allowed” to leave his apartment.

“I woke up besieged. The entire block is surrounded by State Security dressed in civilians who try to impersonate the people,” said García Aguilera.

Supporters of the playwright have since told CNN they believe the government cut off his communications.

The central government denied permits for the march, claiming that those who called the protest are financed by the United States.

“The promoters [de la protesta], their public projections and links with subversive organizations or agencies financed by the United States government have the open intention of changing the political system of our country, “said the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, in a speech before the Central Committee. of the Communist Party of Cuba in October.

Cuban state media have already broadcast images of militias training with AK-47s and members of the “Committee for the Defense of the Revolution” patrolling the streets with metal batons.

While the protests will take place in Havana, organizers say that in addition to the island’s capital, it will spread to seven provinces and will be replicated in more than 90 cities around the world.

Yunior García Aguilera, the leader of a civic group called Archipelago, explains that they are “to demand that all rights are respected for all Cubans, for the release of political prisoners and for the solution of our differences through democratic and peaceful “.

Archipelago members say they too are harassed for their activism and complain of being followed by plain-clothes state security agents and receiving threats from government officials.

The members also accuse Cuba’s state telecommunications company of preventing Cubans from sending text messages with the word archipelago in Spanish or the date of their planned protest, a censorship tactic long established on the island. CNN has independently confirmed the message blocking.