Labor Day demonstrations in the US have turned into rallies against Donald Trump's policies and an occasion to make calls for the rule of law in the country, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Lawyers, teachers, politicians joined the demonstrations. Thousands of people took to the streets of major American cities on May 1 to protest against immigration policy, the targeting of lawyers and judges and the allowing of wealthy people to make key decisions in the Trump administration.
At the rally in Washington, among the speakers was Jennifer Vazquez Sura, whose husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a US citizen, was wrongly sent to prison in El Salvador as part of mass deportation of suspected criminals. Vázquez Sura said her husband was kidnapped by the Trump administration, which has admitted it made a mistake. He has been suffering for 50 days, she added, as the crowd chanted for Kilmar to be brought home.
The demonstrations were organized by 200 unions and human rights groups. Participants called on the Trump administration to invest in working families, healthcare, housing and public schools instead of prioritizing the profits of billionaires.
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans gathered in “Revolution Square“ in Havana for the traditional May Day march amid rising tensions with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Ninety-three-year-old Raul Castro, dressed in military uniform and presented as the leader of the revolution started by his brother Fidel Castro in 1959, and President Miguel Diaz-Canel led the march.
In a message earlier this week, Diaz-Canel urged the city's residents to take part in the march despite the difficult times to demonstrate unity amid increased pressure from the United States.
The first Trump administration imposed new sanctions on the communist country in addition to a decades-long embargo.
The government says this is the main cause of the current crisis, during which the economy has shrunk by more than 15% in the past five years.
“Everyone knew they had to come because it was a moment to affirm the revolution in these chaotic and difficult times, and especially at a time when imperialism is intensifying its policies against Cuba,“ said Diego Fernandez, 42, who took part in the march in the Cuban capital.
Other national leaders scattered across the country to participate in similar events, which were attended by large numbers of locals despite power outages, poor transport links and shortages of basic goods.
“This celebration of Labor Day in Cuba is yet another demonstration of the respect that the Cuban people have for their revolution,“ said Ulises Guilarte de Nascimento, president of the Cuban Workers' Federation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently promised to “start behaving "firmly" with Cuba, where his parents are from. The US special envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, recently said that new sanctions are being prepared and that he believes that a change of government in Cuba is possible at any moment.