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Havana, Cuba (CNN)Cuban activists said they were forcibly trapped wrong their homes connected Monday, arsenic the authorities clamped down connected plans for absorption protests connected the island.
Protests are permitted nether the Cuban constitution. However, the authorities had vowed not to let Monday's planned demonstrations -- intended to telephone for greater governmental freedoms -- claiming they were a pretext to disturbance up occupation connected the communist-run island, and that they'd been secretly organized by Cuban exiles and the US.
The metropolis of Havana saw a dense constabulary beingness connected Monday greeting arsenic authorities prepared to look imaginable protesters. Ultimately, streets remained quiet, nevertheless -- grounds of the chilling effects of the government's warnings.
According to the Havana-based autarkic quality rights enactment Cubalex, Cuban constabulary arrested 11 people, portion 50 others were "besieged" wrong their homes to forestall immoderate nationalist gathering.
On Monday, Cuban activistic Saily Gonzalez Velazquez said successful a video broadcast unrecorded connected Facebook that authorities supporters were blocking her location successful Santa Clara to forestall her from attending the protests.
"At 5:30 successful the greeting radical called by the Cuban authorities arrived successful my neighborhood. I cognize they were called by the Cuban authorities due to the fact that of the signs they were carrying," she told CNN, adding, "They played euphony and erstwhile I got retired of my house, they started yelling astatine maine and my family."
The activistic besides alleged that those extracurricular her location were giving her decease threats.
In the videos, a radical of radical could beryllium seen extracurricular her location holding signs and yelling, and chants of "traitor" tin beryllium heard from the crowd. The assemblage tin beryllium seen holding signs that work "Nothing tin decision us" and "Fatherland oregon Death."
Cuban activist, writer and Washington Post columnist Abraham Jimenez Enoa besides tweeted Monday saying helium was "under siege by plainclothes constabulary and agents."
He tweeted, "Neighbors are telling maine that today's cognition is larger than yesterday's. I cannot spot it from my balcony due to the fact that there's a histrion blocking the view. I lone spot his feet. Are they truthful acrophobic of journalism that volition spell retired and archer the truth? "
According to Cubalex, among the arrested connected Monday were Cuban national Agustin Figueroa Galindo, who often writes for the absorption blog "Primavera Digital en Cuba," and Berta Soler Fernández, person of "Damas de Blanco," an enactment that advocates for the merchandise of governmental prisoners connected the island.
Cuban officials had been connected edge, fearing the spontaneous island-wide protests that rocked Cuba successful January and led to implicit 1,000 arrests, according to activistic groups.
But connected Monday afternoon, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla declared Cuba was "tranquil" and that "outside of Cuba they created expectations that were not met."
Over the weekend, Cuban authorities supporters besides blockaded activistic and playwright Yunior Garcia Aguilera's flat successful Havana successful what appeared to beryllium a determination to preempt the demonstration. Garcia Aguilera is the event's highest-profile organizer.
A authorities protagonist who lives successful Garcia Aguilera's vicinity told CNN helium was arrogant to person confined the activistic to his home.
American officials person threatened further sanctions against Cuba if the protestors are arrested by police.
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