Cuba’s foreign minister summoned foreign ambassadors and diplomats in Havana on Wednesday to warn them that his government will not tolerate an opposition march planned for Monday that the island authorities said is a regime-change plot orchestrated by the United States.
“Cuba will never allow actions of a foreign government in our territory, trying to destabilize the country,” Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said. “The government of Cuba, together with our people... will prevent any attempt of unconstitutional actions aimed at a regime change in Cuba.”
“We will not allow it,” he stressed.
The unusual meeting with diplomats took place just days before the scheduled islandwide march organized by the civic group Archipiélago. The government’s crackdown on protesters that took to the streets in July drew widespread condemnation from the international community.
Archipiélago, made up of young artists and activists, said it will go ahead with its plans despite threats by the Cuba’s Attorney General’s office that protester would be charged as criminals. But the members of the group said they would make some changes to try to minimize interactions with police and government supporters who have been given orders to confront the protesters.
Archipiélago said the march to advocate for the release of political prisoners is legal under the Cuban constitution, and the group had requested authorization from the authorities, which was denied.
In the past few weeks, Cuban authorities have been deploying significant resources to intimidate and discredit the march organizers, deter regular Cubans from joining the protest and present the initiative as part of efforts by the U.S. government to destabilize the country.
Besides threats of pressing charges of public disorder and other crimes, state security agents threatened activists with pressing other unrelated charges, including buying and selling on the informal market, which are prohibited in Cuba. Saily González, one of Archipiélago’s leaders, shared in her social media account that police officers told her she would be prosecuted for buying flour for her cafe and hostel Amarillo in Santa Clara. She recently closed the business, fearing retaliation on her employees for her activism.
State security agents are also interrogating members and supporters of Archiélago, warning them they should not leave their homes on Monday or they will be arrested.
On July 11, thousands of Cubans took to the streets all over the island. But shortly after, Rodríguez denied there was an anti-government uprising. Speaking to the foreign diplomats on Wednesday, he said the United States was financing and organizing the march and the internal opposition.
“There are no grassroots actions of destabilization in Cuba, of opposition to our government,” he said, adding that the alleged plan to subvert the political system in Cuba will not work.
“The United States policy against Cuba is doomed to failure,” he said.
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