Hundreds of Cubans protest lack of food, reliable electricity

March 18 (UPI) -- In a rare public demonstration in Cuba, protesters in Santiago turned out Sunday night to complain about the lack of food and electricity in daily life.

It was one of several demonstrations across the island.

Hundreds of protestors in Santiago, Cuba's second-largest city located on its eastern coast, chanted "power and food" while protesting repeated power outages, some of which last more than 14 hours a day on the island.

Cuba continues to struggle with an economic crisis that has caused power and food shortages, and which its government blames on the ongoing U.S. embargo, the Miami Herald, BBC and NBC News reported.

Western economists, however, blame mismanagement by Cuba's communist government and the COVID-19 pandemic for causing the power and food shortages being experienced by Cuba's 11 million citizens.

The situation has become so dire that Cuba's government in February asked for help from the United Nation's World Food Program.

In a sign of how pronounced public dissatisfaction is today, Cuba's state-run media even acknowledged the protests, though it blamed the U.S. "blockade that seeks to suffocate us," according to Cuban Communist Party outlet Granma and reported Sunday.

Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, in a translated post on X, blamed the country's current infrastructure problems on "mediocre politicians and terrorists in networks" in South Florida and beyond, saying they are the ones calling for chaos in Cuba.

In acknowledging the demonstrations, the U.S. Embassy urged Cuba's government to respect the people's right to protest their living conditions.

"We are aware of reports of peaceful protests in Santiago, Bayamo, Granma and elsewhere in Cuba, with citizens protesting the lack of food and electricity," the U.S. Embassy in Cuba posted on X. "We urge the Cuban government to respect the human rights of the protestors and address the legitimate needs of the Cuban people."