A man died during an anti-government protest on Monday on the outskirts of Havana, the Cuban interior ministry said on Tuesday, as rare demonstrations spurred by economic inequalities have rocked the island. Photo: Aljazeera

Protesters took to the streets of the Cuban capital as well as other cities across the country on Sunday to denounce the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel amid food shortages and a deep economic crisis worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.

The rallies have been met with a wave of arrests and allegations of police brutality, as authorities cracked down on demonstrators.

The interior ministry said on Tuesday that it “mourns the death” of a 36-year-old man named as Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, who the state news agency said had taken part in the “disturbances”.

The Cuban News Agency said “organised groups of antisocial and criminal elements” had tried to reach the suburb of La Guinera’s police station, with the aim of attacking its officials and damaging the infrastructure.

This is the first confirmed death linked to the protests, which are the largest in Cuba in decades.

Waldo Herrera, a 49-year-old resident of La Guinera, told the Reuters news agency that protesters were “marching peacefully, shouting slogans like ‘Down with communism,’ ‘freedom for the people of Cuba,’ ‘we don’t have medicine, we need food.'”

Herrera said the protesters started throwing stones at security forces, who eventually responded with gunfire.

Diaz-Canel has blamed the unrest on the United States, calling on defenders of the Cuban revolution to take to the streets on Sunday to counter the anti-government demonstrators.

The Cuban president also said US sanctions on the country are fuelling misery.

Amnesty International said it had received with alarm reports of “internet blackouts, arbitrary arrests, excessive use of force – including police firing on demonstrators”.