"Click Patrols" return in Cuba: Government uses children to monitor electricity consumption.

The Cuban government has reactivated its old program "Click Patrols", which involves children of various ages supervising electricity consumption in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

This program, promoted by the Union of Communist Youth (UJC) and the José Martí Pioneers Organization (OPJM), has recently been relaunched.

Through a new propaganda spot, the government encourages schools and Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs) to mobilize children "in order to contribute to energy saving" throughout the country.

The "Click Patrols" are responsible for visiting homes and workplaces within the area of influence of the CDR.

The regime takes advantage of children's innocence to use them as messengers, with the alleged goal of "promoting an energy culture in every home."

They turn to this project every time the situation in the country is critical. Currently, the measure is part of a context where frequent power outages severely affect Cuban families.

Children are probably the population group that suffers the most from blackouts. Many of them cannot rest properly due to the heat and mosquito bites on nights without electricity.

This lack of adequate rest influences their development and academic performance, but the government continues to move forward with the inclusion of the youngest residents in energy control activities.

For some families, the only solution to the nightly blackouts has been to sleep outdoors under mosquito nets, a desperate measure to combat the heat and insect bites.

Despite these difficult conditions, the UJC, the OPJM, and the CDR insist that the "Click Patrols" program promotes from an early age appropriate behavior towards saving and collective responsibility.