Inspector in Camagüey cuts off electricity to the sick mother of an independent journalist over an alleged debt of 25 pesos

An inspector from the Electric Company of Camagüey arbitrarily cut off the electricity supply to the home of independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada, despite it being a supposed minimal debt and the medical situation of his family.

According to Tan Estrada's account this Friday, in a post on his Facebook page, the incident occurred when an inspector identified as Guillermo, a collector from Reparto La Mosca, came to his home to suspend the electricity service, claiming a debt of 25 pesos with just 15 days of delay, without showing any proof.

The journalist reported that the official acted with verbal abuse and arrogance towards his mother, who is still suffering from the aftereffects of a viral illness and was caring for a child with a fever at that time.

According to the testimony, the woman tried to explain that there is no fixed payment day and requested time until the afternoon to clarify or settle the situation, but the inspector refused and proceeded with the service cutoff.

Tan Estrada stated that the inspector expressed he was not there to "read currents," that he did not have a digital device, and that his job was not to restore electricity, but to cut it off, treating it "as if it were a criminal."

Despite the payment made hours later, the supply had not been restored, which the complainant described as negligence and institutional disregard.

The journalist claimed that this is not the first time this same inspector has acted similarly in his home and publicly held the Electric Company of Camagüey responsible for any harm that could come to his mother or younger brother as a result of stress and the lack of electricity.

In the comments on the complaint, several users noted that practices like this are recurring and reported similar abuses by the state-owned company.

Others referred to the possible hidden hand of State Security attempting to intimidate the reporter, known for leading humanitarian aid campaigns, as well as reports of negligence, malpractice, and abuses by state institutions.

Before seeking asylum in Mexico, Tan Estrada denounced the ongoing repression by the government, evidenced by internet outages, surveillance, persecution, and summons, which forced him to leave his country.