Cubans in eastern city of Santiago protest blackouts and food shortages

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) — Small groups of protesters have taken to the streets in the eastern Cuba city of Santiago decryng power outages lasting up to eight hours across the Caribbean nation. Videos on social media showed demonstrators Sunday afternoon on the outskirts of the city, which is nearly 500 miles from Havana. State media confirmed the protests in Santiago, while the U.S. Embassy in Havana said there were also reports of protests in a number of other provinces across the island. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel also referred to protests in a social media post, though he did not specify where they occurred. Cuba is facing one of the worst economic and energy crises in its history.