Withdrawing cash from ATMs continues to be a headache for the residents of Santiago de Cuba, a problem that the regime has not managed to solve.
Workers and pensioners in the locality of El Caney were forced to spend Thursday night and early Friday morning waiting in line, without even the hope of accessing the limited cash available at the ATMs, as reported by communicator Yosmany Mayeta on Facebook.
"Although many have woken up early, they fear they won't be able to withdraw any cash and will have to resort to 'money changers' who are charging interest rates between 10 and 20%," explained the content creator, pointing out how citizens are forced to seek solutions on their own due to the regime's inability to provide effective answers.
The images, which show many elderly people, confirm that the search for money, along with food management, are some of the main issues affecting the residents of Santiago de Cuba amidst the worsening economic crisis.
However, the distressing scene is not exclusive to this city, as just earlier this month, the same situation occurred in Las Tunas: a long line of people begging to get their hands on some of the limited cash available in the ATMs.
"The situation at the ATMs in this province and across the island remains dire. Long lines persist, and not even private businesses can process transactions due to a lack of cash," reported the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights.
Regarding this matter, the Central Bank of Cuba recently suggested to Cubans that, due to the ongoing shortage of cash available at ATMs, they should visit bodegas or other commercial establishments of the Ministry of Domestic Trade to use the extra cash services.
According to the entity, through the EnZona application, it is possible to withdraw up to 5,000 Cuban pesos in cash at points of sale by scanning a QR code.
However, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, state-run media admitted last March that there are issues with the extra cash service at several government facilities.
A report from the Sierra Maestra newspaper revealed that in some locations, payment channels (EnZona and Transfermóvil) are not enabled, and many only allow customers to use one of the two, which further complicates cash withdrawals through the extra cash service in the eastern city.
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