Neighbors from two neighborhoods in the city of Guantánamo took to the streets to participate in a pot-banging protest on Ninth North Street, between Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and San Lino, in protest against the prolonged blackouts affecting the province.
According to the human rights organization Cubalex, the electrical situation in these areas is among the most severe in the country. People "only have electricity for 45 minutes to an hour a day", which severely impacts their lives.
The protest took place on Tuesday night, about five blocks from the provincial headquarters of the Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC), prompting an immediate response from the regime.
Until the site arrived the first secretary of the PCC in the province, and repressive forces were deployed that included "trucks with black berets, plainclothes police, and about five patrols."
At the time the alert was published, there was no confirmed information about any individuals being detained, although Cubalex warned of "the risk of repression, arbitrary detentions, and other human rights violations against those who peacefully exercise their right to protest."
The protest in Guantánamo is part of a national wave of demonstrations that intensified since March 6, 2026. There were 156 demonstrations reported across the country by March 17, and at least 14 arrests during the same period.
Days earlier, on April 7, a protest with pots and pans took place in the Havana municipality of Playa after more than ten hours without electricity, and on April 8 another protest with pots and pans occurred in Santos Suárez, in the Diez de Octubre municipality, where power outages lasted up to 15 consecutive hours.
The repressive pattern in response to protests has been consistent across the island: deployment of riot forces, arrests, internet shutdowns in areas of demonstration, and the criminalization of citizens.
Cuban authorities referred to the March protesters as "counter-revolutionary elements" who "were crushed," while Cubalex continues to monitor the events in Guantánamo and asks anyone with information about arrests to report it safely.
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