MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2021) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla has dismissed the credibility of lists of people allegedly missing after recent demonstrations.
On July 11, Cuba saw its largest protests since 1994, fueled by anger over shortages of basic goods. Thousands of people took to the streets to demand "free elections" and the resolution of social issues. According to local media, protests and demonstrations took place in eight Cuban cities, including Havana. In response, government and Communist Party supporters held their countermarches.
"Lists of missing persons have been published. Here I say that they are false and that there is not a single such case," Rodriguez Parrilla told a press conference on Thursday.
The minister went on to accuse CNN and Fox news of "systematic and deceitful manipulation."
He also urged the US or "any entity in any country" to present a single case of missing persons, promising to refute it with sufficient evidence "within a few hours."
The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuba's minister of revolutionary armed forces and the interior ministry's special brigade over the alleged crackdown on the protests. President Joe Biden said the US will continue to hold Havana responsible and the latest round of sanctions is "just the beginning." The American leader had earlier announced other restrictive measures, including banning US citizens from sending money to relatives in Cuba.
