Cuban dissidents decry harassment, as congress denounces ‘counterrevolution’ attempts
HAVANA, (Reuters) Cuban dissidents accused authorities of cutting their web access and preventing them from leaving their homes during the Cuban Communist Party Congress where leaders denounced renewed U.S.backed attempts at “counterrevolution” using online platforms.
The four-day congress, where Raul Castro is set to step down as Communist Party leader, takes place amid a dire economic crisis that has fueled social discontent. U.S. sanctions and the pandemic have exacerbated the woes of the ailing state-run economy.
The rollout of the internet has also provided new platforms for Cubans to express their frustrations in a one party system which tightly controls public spaces and boosted the growth of non-state media challenging a state monopoly of mass media.
During a speech opening the congress on Friday, Castro warned the “counterrevolution” lacked popular support or leadership but was adept at manipulating the web.
“We are firmly convinced the streets, parks and squares belong to the revolutionaries and we will never deny our heroic people the right to defend its revolution,” said Castro.
The U.S. State Department has declined to directly address a Reuters’ question about Havana’s view that Washington and U.S. groups finance dissidents in a bid to destabilize it.
“We support those in civil society, in Cuba and around the world, who are defending their rights or struggling for freedom,” a State Department spokesperson said earlier this month.