“They haven’t had the Internet since last night, but people are demanding freedom,” said Yanislaydy Betancourt, a Cuban resident of Toronto.

“Cubans are tired of being isolated; they are tired of living in a dictatorship,” she said.

“I am afraid of my family, my friends, but now I am afraid of all Cubans,” she added. “It’s really hard for me to see people in my country live like they do now. They have no medicine, no food. They are dying.”

‘Economic choking’

Protesters took to the streets, demanding better access to food, medicine and rights, as Cuba faces a high rate of COVID-19, and Monday reported about 6,900 new cases-this is the number of new infections since the beginning of the pandemic The biggest one-day increase. This country of 11 million people has more than 32,000 active cases and an average of 4,892 new infections are reported every day.

This situation will only exacerbate Cuba’s worst economic crisis since the 1990s, as the country faced declining exports from China and Venezuela during the pandemic, as well as the impact of decades of US sanctions tightened by the Trump administration.

Cuba attributed the weekend’s protests to the United States’ “economic suffocation” and social media campaigns caused by a small number of US-funded counter-revolutionaries, while President Joe Biden announced his support for the protesters.

In a statement on Monday, Biden said: “We stand with the Cuban people and they loudly call for gains from the tragic control of this epidemic and the decades of repression and economic suffering suffered by the Cuban authoritarian regime. Freedom and relief.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel did not directly respond to the statement made by the United States in his speech, but pointed out what he called Washington’s hypocrisy because he expressed concern about the situation in Cuba and at the same time contributed to it through the trade embargo. The situation in Cuba.

“You stopped me… and you want to be your savior. Isn’t it hypocritical and cynical?” he said. “Unlock…then we will see what these people…have.”

Watch | Destroying poverty, coronavirus triggers protests:

Thousands of Cubans flooded the streets of several cities on Sunday, complaining about poverty and the strong demand for freedom. This is a rare manifestation of resistance. 1:05

“What Cuba needs is help and solidarity”

A friend of Betancourt’s was collecting aid to be shipped to Cuba and appealed to the Canadian government for help. Ottawa said it is “closely monitoring” the situation.

But another group that is also delivering aid supports the Cuban government, blaming the US embargo for its situation.

“They tried to describe Cuba as a failed country, and they tried to describe Cuba as having lost control of the pandemic. Neither,” said Julio Fonseca, president of the Cuban Association in Toronto.

“What Cuba needs is help and solidarity,” he said.

Their cargo will include cargo collected by the Canadian missionary in Cuba, Jennifer Raymer, who lives in London, Ontario.

“I’m really emotional. I have loved Cubans for many years. I know there is a fight there. They are injured, so I am injured,” Reimer said.

Watch | Cuban Canadian reaction:

Thousands of Cubans protested in the cities from Havana to Santiago on Sunday, calling for more freedom and better access to food and medical supplies. Lorenda Reddekopp interviewed Cuban Canadians living in the GTA and they are seeking help. 2:27

Remer was supposed to fly to Cuba at the end of this month to deliver a batch of humanitarian and medical supplies, but the trip was cancelled due to the country’s growing COVID-19 crisis.

Despite this, her inventory of syringes, needles, medications and vitamin C is still increasing-she says it refreshes her.

“It feels like Christmas,” she told CBC News, pointing to the stock grown at home.

Reimer said her team has found a way to transport cargo by air, and the flight may depart this weekend.

As for what will happen next, Judith Teichman, professor of political science and international development at the University of Toronto, said it remains to be seen.

“I hope that the United States will lift the embargo so that Cuba can trade with anyone with whom it can trade. This will bring greater prosperity to Cuba… This will allow Cuba’s politics and economy to develop naturally. Way to develop,” she said.

“Now, I don’t think it will develop in a way that the U.S. government will definitely view it positively, because Cubans are very nationalistic. Cuba will not be a copy of American individualist democracy.

“But I think we can hope for better results if the blockade is lifted.”