The Cuban government ensures that there was no damage to the Guantánamo dam during the passage of Hurricane Oscar.

The Cuban regime was quick to assure this Friday through all its communication channels that Hurricane Oscar did not cause damage to the Guantanamo dam Pozo Azul in the Caujerí Valley, which holds 14.8 million m3, after rumors of a supposed breach caused panic and total chaos in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur, affected by recent flooding.

Amid the crisis generated by the hurricane in that municipality of Guantánamo, the local population went into a panic following the spread of a rumor about a possible breach of the dam, which currently holds 12.7 million m³ of water, at 86% of its capacity.

Dozens of people left their homes and took to the streets, pushing elderly individuals in wheelchairs and running in search of shelter or getting onto trucks to distance themselves from the area, according to videos posted by the government-affiliated portal Miguel Noticias on Facebook.

"We want to inform the population, first and foremost those in San Antonio and Guantánamo, that the rumor about the break in the curtain of the San Antonio del Sur dam is false. This rumor has been spread by malicious individuals and has generated a certain level of panic in a community that has already suffered impacts. We reiterate that it is completely false," assured the president of the Provincial Defense Council.

The Eastern Army also stated that "malicious digital sites are spreading false news about the collapse of the dam in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur with the aim of creating panic among the population. We deny this information and share live images taken from an aerial medium in which the Deputy Minister Chief of the General Staff and other high military leaders are currently flying over the area," said this regime entity, as quoted by the Guantanamo television station Primada Visión.

Likewise, the officialist journalist Bernardo Espinosa said that experts from Aguas Terrestres assure that the reservoir never reached its full capacity for filling despite the hurricane.

"The Los Asientos Dam, also located in the easternmost of the Cuban provinces, is at 100% of its capacity, 17.5 million," but "this Friday noon it relieves without difficulties."

"It is false that during the rainy event caused by the hurricane or after, the reservoirs had fractures in their curtains or infrastructures. It is also false that a failure occurred today in the hydraulic works. Precisely, the Los Asientos reservoir, by regulating the water currents, prevented and today prevents major damage to the population and the economy. ALL THE RESERVOIRS IN GUANTANAMO are certified and have no problems with their structures," Espinosa assured.

Despite these clarifications, tension had already erupted in San Antonio del Sur, and a video circulating on social media shows the terror caused by the false news.

The community, visibly scared, reflects the distrust towards the government in this context of crisis, where state negligence put them in danger during a massive blackout that last Friday and Saturday prevented them from being informed about the arrival of a hurricane that consequently caught them off guard.

San Antonio del Sur has been one of the municipalities most affected by the hurricane, with a confirmed toll of six deaths, including three people over 80 years old and a five-year-old girl.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed the tragedy, stating that the victims may have drowned due to the severe floods that struck the region.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Oscar, which made landfall on Sunday and subsequently weakened to a tropical storm, has left many areas inaccessible for rescue efforts.

Díaz-Canel mentioned that the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior are working on the search and recovery of the affected population.