Demonstrators largely stayed off the streets of Cuba on Monday during what had been a highly anticipated nationwide march, with the police, state security agents and even civilians fanning across the country to prevent dissidents from leaving their houses.
The show of force demonstrated the vast security apparatus at the government’s disposal in quashing dissent. It also underscored the challenges the opposition faces in Cuba, where fear of a crackdown often overpowers activism.
For months ahead of the planned demonstration, government critics had sought to reignite the popular discontent that erupted into protests over the summer. But uniformed police officers, plainclothes state security agents and government supporters holding picket signs surrounded the homes of dissidents, human rights activists said.
“My house has been under siege for three days,” Manuel Guerra, a doctor in Holguín, in eastern Cuba, said in a text message. “Cuba is in mourning.”