Small groups of protesters took to the streets in the eastern city of Santiago on Sunday, decrying power outages lasting up to 8 hours and food shortages across Cuba.

Videos on social media showed demonstrators on the outskirts of the city, which is about 800 km from Havana.

State media confirmed the protests in Santiago, while the US embassy in Havana said there were also reports of protests in a number of other provinces across the island. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel also referred to protests in a social media post, though he did not specify where they occurred.

The government-linked news organisation El Necio said, “Due to the long hours of power outages from lack of fuel and other situations arising from the current economic crisis, several people took to the streets” to protest. Cuba is facing one of the worst economic and energy crises in its history. Waves of blackouts have grown worse in recent weeks.