A group of Cubans residing in Canada clashed over the weekend with regime officials who were attending the XV Men’s Volleyball Pan American Cup competitions in Gatineau, Ottawa.
The protest began on Saturday during the semi-finals of the sporting event. Cuban exiles outside the premises shouted slogans such as “Down with Fidel Castro”, “Down with Raúl Castro”, “Down with Communism” and “Communists get to work”.
They assured regime officials that when Cuba is free, all revolutionaries will be repudiated. However, they received no response. The representatives of the communist country remained silent until they left the premises.
Among the regime’s representatives were the Cuban ambassador to Canada, Héctor Igarza, and the president of the National Volleyball League, Ariel Sainz.
“You, sir, should be ashamed. You don’t represent the Cuban people. In Cuba, they would have sent the police to me. Traitors! People in Cuba have no food, no electricity, they are hungry , children are dying in hospitals. And what are you doing? At work!” a protester shouted at them.
The next day, the protest continued in the final of the Pan American Volleyball Cup. The Cubans were not allowed in to see their team play in the Puppy Slush Centerin Gatineau.
One of the demonstrators was arrested by the Canadian police who considered that his behavior in the public space was incorrect. They later confirmed the man was released without charge the same day.
After finishing the men’s volleyball competition, protesters again clashed with regime officials and coaching staff who took part in the sporting event. At the same time, they congratulated the Cuban athletes who managed to win this Sunday with the gold medal at the XV Pan American Cup.
Yanel Raul Nieves, a member of Canadian Cubans for a Democratic Cuba, invited compatriots from around the world to peacefully confront regime officials in public spaces; and to demand that they answer for the crisis and the shortcomings suffered by the Cuban people.
This group of Cubans residing in Canada He also performed last Tuesday at a protest in front of regime officials who attended the screening of El Mayor in Ottawa, a 2018 film dedicated to Camagüeyan patriot Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz.
“Wherever they go, we are going to be, they are not going to colonize our spaces,” said the emigrants.
The Cuban government received this Monday in Havana the men’s volleyball team. The INDER authorities reaffirmed that Cuba welcomed this sporting success and that “it expected more from them”.
The next meeting for these champions is the World Championships, from August 26 to September 11 in Slovenia and Poland.
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