MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. Economic troubles amid the growing incidence of COVID-19 and the fall in shipments of fuel from Venezuela have become objective reasons for protests in Cuba, says Dmitry Rosenthal, Deputy Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Latin American Studies.

"In my opinion, protests are objective in nature. We all are well aware of the social and economic hardships that exist in Cuba. They are connected to general problems in the Cuban economy, as well as to the catastrophic reduction of fuel shipments from Venezuela and, of course, the US-imposed sanctions," Rosenthal said. "Of course, the coronavirus pandemic caused an extremely negative effect on the Cuban economy: the number of cases increases, while vaccines are in extreme shortage. Therefore, there is no surprise that sentiments deteriorate."

According to the expert, there are currently no reasons for alarm: "I’d rather not exaggerate these protests, I’d rather wait. There is such hype in the media only because these are the first major protests since 1994. Back then, the economic situation was difficult, as it is now. Protests both then and now have objective reasons. Back then, following the initial harsh reaction, the Cuban authorities resorted to certain liberalization."

The analyst speculated that the Cuban authorities may "tighten the screws" temporarily, but, in parallel, it will seek to resolve the social and economic hardships. According to Rosenthal, Russia and China have some capacity to provide aid to Havana.

"This is the most important thing that Cuba needs in this difficult situation," he underscored.

Rosenthal recalled that the US-imposed sanctions are one of the reasons for the difficult social and economic situation on the island.

"There were hopes that the election of Joe Biden would bring a certain normalization of American-Cuban relations. Biden served as Vice President under Obama. Apparently, this normalization is being postponed to a distant period, considering the escalation and mutual accusation," the expert said. "In theory, the Americans may tighten [the sanctions against Cuba], if protests are repressed rather brutally. The Cuban issue is not only a matter of foreign policy in the US, but a matter of domestic policy as well. It is a very sensitive moment. There is a rather substantial Cuban lobby, a conservative lobby that will keep pressing the White House to tighten the pressure [on Cuba]."

Earlier, Cuban state TV reported riots in several cities, involving stores being destroyed. Prior to this, mass protests sparked in San Antonio de Los Banos, located 24 km south of Havana. Cuban President Miguel Dias-Canel traveled to the city and urged the defenders of the Cuban revolution to bring order to the streets and to thwart provocations against the authorities. He noted that those "who have always supported the blockade and served as the Yankee empire’s mercenaries […] demand a ‘humanitarian intervention’ and welcome campaigns, aimed at dissemination of the idea that the Cuban government allegedly cannot control the difficult epidemiological situation."