No electricity for hours and hardly any food – the situation is extremely tense for many people in strictly regulated Cuba. The government is still allowing them to demonstrate, but is apparently switching off the internet in the meantime.
The power goes out in the east of Cuba for many hours and there are food shortages – the people there have expressed their anger about this situation. In Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city, hundreds took to the streets in a rare public protest.
“People were shouting 'food and electricity',” said a resident of Santiago, 800 kilometers from the capital Havana. The power supply was later restored. The number of hours the power has been out repeatedly over the past few days varies greatly. The media sometimes talk about up to eight hours, sometimes more than 18 hours.
“Several people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation of electricity and food distribution,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on the short message service X, confirming the protests.
“Terrorists” from the USA would try to foment further uprisings. “This situation will be exploited by the enemies of the revolution for destabilizing purposes.” He called for an “atmosphere of calm and peace.” Police arrived in Santiago to “prevent violence,” said a report on state broadcaster CubaDebate.
USA calls for respect Right to demonstrate
The US Embassy in Havana said there were reports of protests in other provinces. She called on the Cuban government on X to respect the rights of the protesters. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez then also called on Washington via X not to “interfere in the country's internal affairs.”
A person who wished to remain anonymous told the AP news agency by telephone that the internet was switched off in Santiago after the demonstrations. At X, several users also reported internet outages in the city.
Cuba is in one Economic crisis
The power outages that have plagued Cuba since early March are linked to maintenance work at the country's largest power plant, located in Matanzas province, east of Havana. There was also a fuel shortage at the weekend. The fuel is used to operate other power plants.
Cuba is facing one of the worst economic and energy crises in the country's history. Power outages have worsened in recent weeks. Frustration over food shortages and inflation is also increasing. The situation is becoming increasingly difficult for the people on the communist-ruled island.
