Many described it as a potential turning point in a country where the Communist Party has managed to stifle even small challenges to its authority for decades. “The spark has been lit, ladies and gentlemen, there’s no turning back,” the independent journalist Yoani Sánchez said in a brief podcast she recorded on Tuesday. “People felt what it’s like to scream freedom in the streets of Cuba.”The Cuban government often detains dissidents for a day or two after security forces break up demonstrations. It was unclear whether Sunday’s detentions would lead to a new generation of long term political prisoners. “A lot of people throughout the country are still detained, I would say hundreds,” he said in a phone interview.

Source: International New York Times July 13, 2021 22:09 UTC