Cuba Stages Mass May Day Rally to Denounce US Sanctions

By Staff, Agencies

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans filled the streets of Havana on Thursday for the May Day rally, denouncing the decades-long US embargo on the country and condemning Washington’s restrictions on the island’s international medical missions.

The demonstration marked the country’s first large-scale rally since 2022, taking place amid a deepening economic crisis and growing frustration over persistent fuel shortages.

Marchers carried placards and chanted slogans such as “Down with the blockade” and “Long live free Cuba,” expressing unified opposition to the US policies that have constrained the Cuban economy and targeted its healthcare diplomacy.

The protest also condemned sanctions related to Cuba’s long-running program of dispatching doctors abroad, a key source of both revenue and international influence for Havana. The United States has labeled these missions as “forced labor", leading to new visa restrictions and broader punitive measures.

Among the most visible participants were doctors and nurses, many in white coats, who marched past the Jose Marti memorial chanting against the embargo.

The protest was attended by former president Raul Castro and current president Miguel Diaz-Canel, whose presence signaled high-level state support for the mobilization.

Ulises Guilarte, head of the Workers’ Central Union of Cuba, addressed the crowd, accusing the US of attempting to “cause shortages and destabilize the country.” He described Washington’s campaign against Cuban medical brigades as “perverse", blaming it for worsening the economic crisis.