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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Ruaridh Nicoll in Havana

‘This wasn’t on my bingo card’: surprise at Biden’s last-gasp Cuba sanctions deal

Authorities arrest a man during street protests in 11 July 2021.
Authorities arrest a man during street protests on 11 July 2021. Photograph: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images

When Maykel González Vivero, a journalist and LGBTQ+ activist, was picked up by police during massive street protests in Cuba in July 2021, he was driven to a detention centre on the outskirts of Havana and thrown into a jail cell with dozens of others.

“When I was in that cell I thought I would never get out. I prepared myself mentally,” he said. He was released that night, but hundreds of others were not.

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