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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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Cuba's president has called for calm after protests sprang up on the island over blackouts, following weeks of disruption and tightened U.S. restrictions on energy supplies into the country.
The government in Havana has for years contended with U.S. pressure and power cuts, which kicked up after U.S. forces captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro back in January and stopped Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, a key lifeline for Havana.
The U.S. has also threatened to impose tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba, with fuel shortages, unreliable electricity and blackouts plaguing the island. Cuban officials have decried what they call a U.S. oil blockade against the country, which is heavily dependent on imports.
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Cuban authorities arrested five people and a local communist party headquarters in central Cuba was partially destroyed, state media reported on Saturday.
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"It's understandable that the prolonged blackouts cause distress," Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel said in a statement on Saturday.
"The complaints and demands are legitimate, as long as they are carried out with civic responsibility and respect for public order," he added.
Díaz-Canel condemned what he called "violence and vandalism" while blaming the U.S. for "cruelly" squeezing energy resources.
Several countries, including Canada, sent humanitarian aid to the country.
Although the U.S. had slightly eased restrictions, Cuba's residents have struggled to return to normal life.
A widespread blackout spread across Cuba earlier this month after the country's electrical grid failed, blamed on an outage at a major thermoelectric plant east of Havana and the fuel scarcity.
The Cuban president had confirmed on Friday Havana was in talks with the U.S. government as the island continued to suffer power outages.
President Donald Trump had referenced conversations between Washington and Havana but provided few details.
The Cuban leader said no fuel had made its way into Cuba for three months while Havana has swiveled toward renewable energy sources, like solar parks.
The U.S. and Cuba have had fraught relations for decades and Trump has indicated he could turn his attention to Cuba once U.S. military strikes in the Middle East wrap up.
Several senior U.S. officials have openly predicted the downfall of top officials in Havana. Trump himself said earlier this month the government was in "its last moments of life."
Trump has repeatedly floated a "friendly takeover" in Havana, while Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News earlier this month: "This communist dictatorship in Cuba? Their days are numbered."
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