Cuba recalls the significance of the events of August 5, 1994

HAVANA, Cuba, August 5 (ACN) Cuba recalls today the events of August 5, 1994, on Havana's Malecon, a demonstration of the people's unity in support of the Revolution, under the leadership of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.

Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), noted on X that 31 years ago, vandals disrupted order on some streets of Havana, when the country was living a period of severe economic crisis.

In his message, the party leader praised the legacy of Fidel, who came to the Malecon upon learning of the protests and whose presence helped restore order.

Following the events of August 5, 1994, in a statement, Fidel Castro stated: "The moral values that this people has accumulated, nor their willingness to fight, cannot be underestimated. And those who fight win; there is no one today, no matter how powerful, capable of defeating a people determined to fight, a people with as many combatants and revolutionaries as our country has. I am convinced of that."

Granma newspaper, the official journal of the PCC Central Committee, recalled Tuesday that at the beginning of the riots, antisocial elements gathered unusually on Avenida del Puerto, attracted by rumors from radio stations in the United States about the possibility of emigrating by sea without the need for formalities.

According to the statement, hijackings of boats to travel to the "American dream" were common at the time; On August 3, they seized La Coubre, and the following day, during a similar attempt, they murdered 19-year-old National Revolutionary Police non-commissioned officer Gabriel Lamoth Caballero.

Barely another 24 hours passed when they attempted to seize, for the second time, the Baragua boat, which had been hijacked on July 26 and later recovered. This time, they were prevented from doing so and unleashed their wrath on the municipalities of Old Havana and Centro Havana, breaking shop windows, looting businesses, and physically attacking the police, the newspaper reported.

Residents of nearby areas demonstrated varying displays of steadfastness; workers at the Deauville Hotel—a popular rallying point for the counteroffensive—the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, and the Blas Roca Contingent shouted, "This street belongs to Fidel."

At 9:00 in the morning, an advance party of 300 members of that latter force interrupted their work on the construction of the Melia Cohíba hotel to respond to the emergency.

In the following hours, they doubled their number, deploying from the Casablanca launch's departure point to 23rd and Malecon streets.

Among the scars of the horror, a builder lost an eye and others suffered skull fractures. "I wanted to receive my quota of stones (...) one wants to be there where the people are fighting (...); but I also had a special interest in talking with our people, to urge them to remain calm, patient, and cool," Fidel stated during his appearance at the center of the unrest, after being ordered to put away their firearms.

Suddenly, the threat disappeared, and only the chant of his name was sung, the newspaper noted.

On August 5 of the following year, the streets were once again filled with life, but with a different energy, thanks to the Youth March against the U.S. blockade, the newspaper added, concluding by quoting journalist Alberto Nuñez, who, referring to the events of that day in 1994, declared: "The Malecon will always be a place of love and victory."