"If you pay, they fumigate; if you don't pay, they won't": Cubans report illegal charges for fumigation services

Cuban activist Gretell Salermo reported this Sunday on social media that state fumigators are charging up to 1,000 pesos per household in the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, according to an audio message she received from Cuba.

“I just listened to an audio from Cuba. The 'State' fumigators are charging a thousand pesos to fumigate the house. That’s the rate in Arroyo Naranjo, I’m not sure about other places,” wrote Salermo on Facebook, generating dozens of responses that confirm the practice in various provinces.

Users from various regions of the country have stated that the charges have become commonplace, even in areas where authorities claim the campaigns are free.

Yonimilers del Río Polo, one of the internet users who responded to the post, stated that the order "comes from the people's power," which indicates that the community must "provide the fuel for the fumigation."

“It's a lack of respect,” he added.

Other comments indicate that in San Miguel del Padrón, the fumigation costs up to 2,000 pesos, and that sometimes "the fumigators arrive drunk."

In Holguín, Santa Clara, and Camagüey prices range between 1,800 and 2,500 pesos, according to gathered testimonies.

"I'll pay a thousand today; it's like 50 from 15 years ago," ironized Enrick Pérez, while Dailys Iralis Serrano reported having paid 2,500 pesos at her home.

The discontent is echoed in the comments: “A lot of talk and no action,” denounced Soraya Quintero, while Idania Izquierdo described the situation as “profiting from the people's needs.”

The reports arise amidst a national health crisis due to the increase in cases of chikungunya, dengue, and oropouche, diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which the regime is attempting to control through increasingly criticized fumigation campaigns marked by ineffectiveness and corruption.

Moreover, these complaints highlight the lack of control within the state sector, while the regime continues to uphold its official narrative of conducting effective campaigns, contrary to the reality that disproves its lies.

In several areas, citizens claim that spraying only occurs if payment is made or if fuel is provided, leaving poorer families unprotected against the resurgence of arboviral diseases.