The 2020 Cuban protests were a series of

peaceful demonstration A political demonstration is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause or people partaking in a protest against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march formati ...

s nationwide in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

between 29 June 2020, and 2 December 2020, as a result of the death of Hansel Hernández, which took place on 24 June 2020, in the La Lima district, Guanabacoa,

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, following an altercation with the local police. The reason for the altercation was that Hernández, an Afro-Cuban man, allegedly shoplifted. The latter, faced with the possibility of being arrested, tried to escape. During the 1.2 miles chase, the subject threw stones at the police officers, who opened fire on Hernández, dying of a shot in the back. The government's official version is that it was only one police officer, wounded by stones thrown by the subject, who fired at Hernández. The photo of the body was uploaded to

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

by a local pedestrian, going viral in a short time. The

National Revolutionary Police Force Law enforcement in Cuba is the responsibility of the National Revolutionary Police Force ( es, Policía Nacional Revolucionaria, PNR) under the administration of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior. Article 65 of the Cuban Constitution states that ...

deplored the event but said the subject had a

criminal record A criminal record, police record, or colloquially RAP sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions) is a record of a person's criminal history. The information included in a criminal record and the existence of a criminal record varies between coun ...

. The event was interpreted as an act of

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

by the Afro-Cuban community, for which Hernández was called "the

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...

of Cuba", leading to demonstrations across the island. On 29 June 2020, peaceful demonstrations were held throughout the territory, and in addition to demanding justice for Hernández, they also demanded the release of opponents such as Silverio Portal Contreras. The Cuban government accused the opposition of propagating fake news; on the other hand, the government was criticized for the sources used by related media coming from a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel with accusations of

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

, and

transphobia Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...

. On 30 July, members of the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias; FAR) are the military forces of Cuba. They include ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial Tro ...

were transferred to various parts of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

to control the demonstrations. The

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...

reported that the state company

ETECSA Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. ( en, Telecommunications Company of Cuba; ETECSA), is the Cuban state company that provides telephony and communications services in Cuba. It is the sole lawful provider of telephony and telecommunicatio ...

cut off access to

internet in Cuba The internet in Cuba covers telecommunications in Cuba including the Cuban grassroots wireless community network and Internet censorship in Cuba. Since its introduction in the late 1990s, Cuban Internet has stalled because of lack of funding, t ...

to prevent an increase in demonstrations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuban protests, 2020 2020 in Cuba 2020 protests Protests in Cuba

See also

References