The Deputy Director General for the United States at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex), Johana Tablada, acknowledged the presence of waste on the streets of Cuba, but justified the situation by comparing it to other countries, while asserting that Havana is not the only city facing hygiene issues in areas outside the tourist circuit.
In an attempt to downplay the issue, the official emphasized that Cuba has one of the largest and best-preserved historic districts in Latin America, although she acknowledged that not all areas have received attention.
During her appearance this week on the video podcast Alma Plus, hosted by the official journalist Laura Prada, Tablada attributed the international criticism regarding the filth in Cuba to a "demonization campaign" against the country.
"That's why we see the insistence on demonizing everything... it's true that there is litter on the streets, but we are not the country with the most trash in the world, nor are we the only city that has a tourist circuit (...) that is constantly focused on those visits it receives from around the world and has areas where that restoration has not yet reached," he pointed out.
In this regard, she held the media and government policies of the United States responsible for focusing on the negative rather than on what she referred to as the "natural beauties" of the country.
The claim that Havana is not the city with "the most garbage" highlights the contrast between the official narrative, which seeks to downplay a daily issue, and the lived experience of Cubans, who coexist with micro-landfills and overflowing pits, as well as a waste collection system unable to address the hygiene and environmental crisis.
Instead of announcing concrete measures to tackle the accumulation of garbage, the message from the newly appointed ambassador focused on diverting attention towards international comparisons and blaming the press, leaving the urgency of a city sinking in neglect and dirt unanswered.
In Havana, one of the most impressive garbage dumps has gone viral on social media as a testimony to the decay of the once splendid Cuban capital.
Located on Virtudes Street, between Consulado and Industria, next to the former Musical Theatre of Havana, the trash heap overflows a corner and extends for a block on each side.
The accumulation of garbage is spreading throughout the city, raising concerns over an evident public health crisis that is spiraling out of control, and for which the government has no solution.
Recently, it was reported that the uncontrolled accumulation of garbage at several corners of Vedado has alarmed the residents of this central Havana neighborhood, who have raised concerns about the prevailing unsanitary conditions and warned of the dangers this situation poses with the impending start of the hurricane season.
In streets like 25 and H, 17 and 10, or 13 and 10, the images reveal an alarming reality: overflowing garbage bins, makeshift dumps in the middle of the street, and waste accumulating for days without being collected.
The accumulation of garbage in the Cerro municipality of Havana has once again sparked the outrage of residents who report unsanitary conditions and government inaction, as they live surrounded by flies, unpleasant odors, and the fear of diseases.
But the expansion of landfills, foul odors, and the proliferation of pests are part of the everyday landscape in other cities and towns in Cuba.
Weeks ago, a young Cuban shared her testimony on social media about the neglect and accumulation of waste on the Vía Blanca in Matanzas, one of the busiest avenues in the city and considered a tourist area due to its proximity to the sea. “Little by little the waste is taking over the most beautiful places in our province,” she lamented.
The city of Cienfuegos, considered by many to be the cleanest in Cuba, shows a dirty and neglected face every Saturday after the popular Feria de La Calzada, a space for supply and trade that ends up becoming a hub of waste and neglect.
The former Hotel Venus, located on the central San Félix street, between Heredia and Aguilera, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, has become a focal point of unsanitary conditions and ruin, one of the many expressions of neglect and disinterest that afflict a significant part of the architectural heritage on the island.
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