Poverty. Hunger. Disease. Darkness. Misery. These have, for 67 years, been the defining characteristics of life in Cuba, a beautiful island nation 90 miles from American shores, brought to its knees by communism. Since Fidel Castro seized power on New Year’s Day 1959, the country has been in a death spiral, propped up for years by Soviet communists, then by Venezuela’s discount oil courtesy of President Nicolás Maduro until his capture. But now, finally, the totalitarian regime that has enslaved the people of Cuba has weakened to the point that its demise appears imminent.
This is the added benefit of President Donald Trump’s Operation Absolute Resolve in early January. It resulted in the capture and imprisonment of Maduro and the deaths of 32 Cuban secret police enforcers protecting the dictator-drug lord. So, with Cuba now cut off from cheap Venezuelan oil, it quickly became clear that the days of Communist rule would be numbered. And over the weekend, widespread protests broke out against the regime. What had long been unthinkable took place in Morón, a city of 70,000, where the Communist Party headquarters was set on fire. Nighttime darkness with blackouts that have reportedly affected 60% of the country empowered the bold arsonists. Meanwhile, many have taken to banging pots and pans at night — a protest tradition called “cacerolazo” — to express anger over the lack of food. And students at the University of Havana held a sit-in on March 16 after their classes were suspended due to energy restrictions.
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