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An independent journalist was assaulted by a regime official while documenting alleged irregularities in the distribution of water in the Arroyo Naranjo municipality in Havana. The incident ended with the reporter's phone destroyed after being hit and thrown to the ground.
The journalist from CubaNet Vladimir Turró Páez was filming the distribution of water via trucks in a neighborhood that had not received regular supplies for a while. According to complaints from residents present, the water truck arrived at the location but only distributed water to two or three homes before leaving, leaving the rest of the community without service.
In a video released by the media outlet itself, the reporter is seen discussing with the truck driver as he tries to clarify what happened.
"Down below there are houses that haven't gotten water," Turró tells the pipero, who responds angrily, "I don't care if you film me."
The journalist insists on knowing if the truck will return to continue the delivery, as several residents claim to have waited for hours without receiving a drop of water.
Tension escalated when Turró tried to obtain explanations from an official present at the scene, who initially avoided responding while speaking on the phone. When the reporter identified himself as a journalist and asked for an explanation of why the truck was not reaching other houses in the neighborhood, the woman reacted with hostility.
"You made a mistake, so post it yourself," the official replied.
During the discussion, a neighbor also intervened, questioning how a pipe could run out of water after supplying just a few homes.
"How can a water pipe run out in two or three houses?" she asked indignantly.
Residents reported that there are suspicions of illegal water sales from the trucks in the area, a practice that has been reported in various neighborhoods of Havana where entire communities go days or weeks without supply.
The most tense moment occurred when the journalist claimed he would continue documenting what had happened. It was then that the official reacted violently.
"I’m not interested," he is heard saying before striking the reporter's phone and throwing it to the ground, causing the device to break.
After the blow, the video captures the screams of the people present while the journalist reprimands the woman for her reaction: "You went insane."
The incident reflects the climate of tension that is prevalent in many neighborhoods in Cuba due to the water scarcity, a problem that forces thousands of families to rely on water trucks, whose distribution is often surrounded by allegations of corruption, favoritism, or illegal sales.
For many residents, the arrival of a water truck does not always mean relief, but rather new disputes over an increasingly scarce resource. In this case, the situation also ended with an assault on a journalist who was attempting to document the complaints of the neighbors.
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