ORLANDO, Fla. — Waving Cuban flags and chanting, a large group of demonstrators calling for liberty for Cuba blocked South Semoran Boulevard early Tuesday evening and were threatened with arrest if they did not stop the roadblock.
One person was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, according to Orlando Police.
The rally was the third in three days outside a Sedano’s market on the corner of Semoran Boulevard and Curry Ford Road.
“If Cuba is on the streets, Orlando will be too,” chanted scores of demonstrators wearing colors of the Cuban flag.
Bianca Pena, a Cuban-American, said that her grandparents escaped from the Communist regime and she now wants to see present-day Cubans get the help that they need.
“Our people feel the need to get their voices out there. They’re being killed. They’re dying, So we’re doing what we can here with our freedom of speech because they don’t have that,” the Orlando residents said.
About two hours after the protest began, Orlando Police declared an unlawful assembly and warned of arrests if the demonstrators on behalf of Cuban citizens did not move off of South Semoran.
Shortly after, the crowd moved off the divided highway and back to the sidewalk, where participants continued their demonstration, marching south.
Police said in an affidavit that after about 15 minutes of the warnings, a 42-year-old man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after "sitting in the middle of the public roadway... in such a manner as to block or impair the movement of vehicles."
Police Chief Orlando Rolon explains his department’s approach to this evening’s Cuba protest, which shut down busy South Semoran Blvd. The protests have resulted in one arrest, he says. pic.twitter.com/MaYjBTH83A
— Pete Reinwald, News 13 (@petereinwald) July 13, 2021
By 8:30 p.m. — four hours after the start of the demonstration — protesters continued to chant, sing and wave flags along the roadway.
Well into the evening, Cuba demonstrators continue to chant, sing and wave flags along South Semoran Blvd. — going on four hours now. Motors continue to beep their approval. pic.twitter.com/fOlCADVZ6m
— Pete Reinwald, News 13 (@petereinwald) July 14, 2021
Other Protests
In Palm Bay, hundreds of people lined the streets Tuesday to protest the communist regime in Cuba.
For more than two hours, protesters waved Cuban and American flags, and signs calling for the island nation's freedom. Cars and trucks honked in support of the demonstrators.
It was important to take to the streets to show solidarity to those protesting in Cuba, Landy Conteras said.
"For everything that took place in the last few days in Cuba, we need to show unity and fight oppression, and for freedom," said Conteras, who was among those protesting in Palm Bay.
And protestors do not plan to slow down. There is already a demonstration planned for Saturday at Lake Eola.
Reporter Rebecca Turco contributed to this story.