Cuban police cracked down on protesters in the isolated town of Caimanera, close to the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison, after dozens took to the streets on Saturday demanding better living conditions and freedom.
Videos posted to social media show a crowd protesting in front of government buildings, before riot police arrived and forcibly arrested several demonstrators.
The US Embassy in Havana condemned the crackdown, tweeting on Sunday that security forces “responded violently to peaceful protests in the town of Caimanera, beating citizens for demanding human rights.”
“Cuba also shut down its internet for fear of freedom of expression,” the embassy wrote.
Netblocks, an organization that tracks internet activity, said it appeared the Cuban government had taken down the internet across the entire island as news of the protests spread.
Pro-Cuban government bloggers blamed the protesters uploading videos of the protests for the internet disruptions. However, the Cuban government has a history of taking down the state-provided internet during previous protests, sometimes for several days.
Credit: cnn.com
