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Fresh protests erupt in Havana and Guanabacoa on Cuba's fifth anniversary of the 11J uprising as security forces deploy

Cubans in Old Havana and Guanabacoa banged pots and chanted against the government on July 12, five years after the July 11, 2021 protests swept dozens of Cuban cities; Cuban security forces deployed in Havana; residents in Guanabacoa staged demonstrations after more than 33 consecutive hours without electricity; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and UN Ambassador Mike Waltz each issued statements calling for the release of more than 800 political prisoners held since 2021; Cuban Americans held a Liberation Day rally in Miami

Leaders· active Who Decides·What They're Not Saying ·9 takes · ·rbtfl upd Jul 12, 2026
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The split

The same story, as told by newsrooms in different countries. Their words, attributed and linked.

Cuba (diaspora)

Cuba Headlines

“Half a decade has passed since the July 11, 2021 protests. Cuba's post-Raúl government has imprisoned over 800 demonstrators, with no election or accountability since.”

Cuban exile media outlet; provides the structural context of how Cuba's government has changed since 2021 without holding elections, framing the anniversary as a referendum on the post-Raúl successionread the original ↗

United States

NBC Miami

“Five years ago, protests quickly spread across dozens of Cuban cities, driven by blackouts, shortages of food and medicine, the pandemic, and growing dissatisfaction with Cuba's political situation.”

US English-language broadcaster in Miami, the largest Cuban-American community; retrospective framing of the 2021 protests as a structural turning point in Cuban civil societyread the original ↗

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Summary

Cuba marked five years since the July 11, 2021 protests with fresh demonstrations in Old Havana and Guanabacoa on July 12, as residents banged pots and chanted against the government after more than 33 consecutive hours without electricity in some areas; Cuban security forces deployed in Havana. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and UN Ambassador Mike Waltz issued statements calling for the release of over 800 political prisoners held since 2021. Cuban Americans marked the anniversary as Liberation Day at a rally in Miami's Little Havana, with both Trump and Rubio delivering messages calling for reforms and political freedom.

Why it matters

The 2021 protests were the largest seen in Cuba since 1994. Five years on, the power cuts, food shortages and political repression that drove them persist and have worsened. Cuba's government has imprisoned more than 800 demonstrators from the 2021 crackdown, making their cases a persistent focal point in US-Cuba relations under the Rubio-led State Department.

What to watch

  • Whether Cuba's government responds to anniversary protests with fresh arrests or any conciliation
  • The fate of the 800-plus political prisoners cited by US officials, and any prisoner-release negotiations
  • US policy on Cuba under the Trump administration, including possible additional sanctions
  • Cuba's power crisis: whether blackout frequency and duration change the political calculus for the government

The briefing, by email