Thousands march in Cuba in rare mass protests amid economic crisis

US sanctions and coronavirus crisis lead to food shortages and high prices, sparking one of the biggest such demonstrations in memory

The biggest mass demonstrations for three decades have rippled through Cuba, as thousands took to the streets in cities throughout the island, demonstrating against food shortages, high prices and communist rule.

The protests began in the morning, in the town of San Antonio de los Banos in the west of the island, and in the city of Palma Soriano in the east. In both cases protesters numbered in the hundreds.