Cuba says US responsible for 2021 protests, biggest in decades

FILE PHOTO: People clash with plain clothes police during protests against and in support of the government, amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Havana, Cuba July 11, 2021. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini/File Photo

HAVANA (Reuters) -Cuba on Monday accused the U.S. government of bearing "direct responsibility" for the protests that rocked the Caribbean island two years ago, marking the largest demonstrations since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

"The United States has a direct responsibility for the disturbances of July 11 and 12, 2021," the Communist Party-run Granma newspaper said in a front-page editorial ahead of the anniversary of the protests. It provided no evidence to back the accusations.