Thousands of Cubans on Sunday joined the biggest protests for decades against the island's Communist government.
Cubans are seen outside Havana's Capitol during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana. Photo: AFP
They marched in cities including the capital Havana, shouting "freedom" and "down with the dictatorship".
Cubans are angry about the collapse of the economy, food shortages and the government's handling of the pandemic.
The protests are significant, with government critics risking jail for dissent in the island.
"We are not afraid. We want change, we do not want any more dictatorship," one protester in San Antonio said.
Images on social media showed what appeared to be security forces detaining and beating some of the protesters.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel is blaming the US for the turmoil, calling its tight sanctions on Cuba - which have been in place in various forms since 1962 - a "policy of economic suffocation".
He said the protesters were mercenaries hired by the US to destabilise the country, and called for his supporters to go out and defend the revolution - referring to the 1959 uprising which ushered in Communist rule.
"The order to fight has been given - into the street, revolutionaries!" he said in an address on TV.
The top US diplomat for Latin America, Julie Chung, tweeted: "We are deeply concerned by 'calls to combat' in Cuba."
Cuba is in the midst of an economic crisis. It was hit hard by the pandemic and US sanctions, and last year its largely state-controlled economy shrank by 11% - its worst decline in almost three decades.
The US - which has a decades-old history of hostilities with the Cuban government - has said it stands with Cubans, and called on those in government to "hear their people and serve their needs" rather than their own.
"The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights," US President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Mexico, which historically has close ties with Cuba, has said it is ready to help with humanitarian aid such as medicine and food, and stressed that other countries should not intervene in Cuba's affairs.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said if the US wanted to help Cuba, it should lift its crippling sanctions.
The anti-government protests began with a demonstration in the city of San Antonio de los Baños, south-west of Havana, but soon spread throughout the country.
Many were broadcast live on social networks, which showed marchers shouting slogans against the government and the president, and calling for change.
"This is the day. We can't take it anymore. There is no food, there is no medicine, there is no freedom. They do not let us live. We are already tired," said one of the protesters, who gave his name only as Alejandro.
Posts on social media showed people overturning police cars and looting some state-owned shops, which price their goods in foreign currencies. For many Cubans, these shops are the only way they can buy basic necessities but prices remain high.
- BBC