HAVANA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Cubans on Saturday gathered at the La Piragua esplanade in Havana to express their support of the island's government after the recent unrest.
Raul Castro, leader of the Cuban socialist revolution, President Miguel Diaz-Canel, high-ranking officials, and leaders of social organizations attended the event.
Addressing the audience, Diaz-Canel said that the Cuban revolution continues to stand by its people, and accused the U.S. administration of sponsoring a political and communicational campaign against the Caribbean country.
Abiding by social distancing guidelines and mask mandates, participants held national flags and patriotic banners in support of the Cuban socialist revolution, and dozens of people waved from balconies.
Unity has helped Cubans overcome crises, said Gerardo Hernandez, national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, adding that the U.S. administration wanted to destabilize the tranquility of the island's neighborhoods.
"This revolution was made by Raul (Castro) and Fidel (Castro) for the humble, with the humble, and for the sake of the humble," he said, adding that the Cuban government will continue the work initiated by its predecessors.
Julio Cesar Crespo, who works at Havana's Higher Institute of International Relations "Raul Roa Garcia", told Xinhua that young people in Cuba were committed to the development of socialism on the island.
"We have to defend the revolution, which has been a beacon for all Cubans," he said. "We cannot lose (what) all we have shed so much blood for. Today we come to reaffirm our revolutionary convictions."
