Hundreds of women marched in Cuba’s capital, Havana, to protest the de facto oil blockade and pressure campaign that the United States has imposed on the island.Banners and signs at Tuesday’s demonstration bore the slogan “Tumba el bloqueo” or “Tear down the blockade”. Many protesters waved Cuban flags, and some wore T-shirts with the hashtag #NoMasBloqueo or “No more blockade”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe protest took place on what would have been the 96th birthday of the late Vilma Espin, a leader in the Cuban Revolution and a former first lady. She was the wife of Raul Castro and the sister-in-law of Fidel Castro, both presidents.Top officials in Cuba’s communist government led the demonstration, including Deputy Prime Minister Ines Maria Chapman and Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal.They denounced the US campaign against the Cuban government as a kind of collective punishment.“This policy of abuse has to stop,” Vidal told The Associated Press. “The Cuban people don’t deserve this. It’s the most comprehensive, all-encompassing, and longest-running system of coercive measures ever imposed against an entire country.” The women’s rally was held on the anniversary of former First Lady Vilma Espin’s birthday [Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo]A cap on foreign oilThe Cuban government has organised protests in recent weeks as a show of opposition to policies put in place under US President Donald Trump.Last Thursday, for instance, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel joined demonstrators on bicycles and electric vehicles outside the US Embassy in Havana to denounce …
