A Cuban resident interviewed by the American television network ABC News directly blamed the island's government for the national crisis, amidst daily blackouts lasting up to 16 hours, fuel shortages, and new sanctions from the United States against the military conglomerate Gaesa.
The report filmed in Havana showed a citizen identified as Antonio publicly questioning the Cuban regime in statements to correspondent Whit Johnson, which is quite unusual in a context marked by fear and political surveillance.
"The problem here is the government," the interviewee stated in front of the cameras. "They have not tried to improve the lives of Cubans," he added while describing the situation faced by the population in the Cuban capital.
Johnson explained that many citizens refrain from making similar statements out of fear of reprisals or political discomfort. According to the journalist, Antonio also rejected U.S. intervention and insisted that "the only ones who should solve the problem are the Cuban people."
The report described a city affected by scheduled blackouts of up to 16 hours a day, nearly empty streets due to a lack of fuel, and an increasing reliance on the black market to supply vehicles.
The images and testimonies shared by ABC News coincided with the announcement of new U.S. sanctions against Gaesa, the military conglomerate that controls large sectors of the Cuban economy.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday sanctions against the military elite's holding on the island under Executive Order 14404, signed by Trump on May 1.
"Not a single road, not a single bridge, not a single grain of rice for any Cuban, except for those who are part of Gaesa,” declared Rubio, who described the conglomerate as "the heart of the kleptocratic communist system of Cuba", with revenues that triple the state budget and illicit assets estimated at up to 20 billion dollars in hidden accounts abroad.
Foreign companies have until June 5 to cease operations with Gaesa, under the risk of secondary sanctions that could include the prohibition of correspondent accounts in the United States.
The frustration captured by ABC News is backed by numbers. An independent survey by elToque, with over 41,658 responses (58% from within Cuba), revealed that 92% of participants declare themselves "very dissatisfied" with the government, and 95% consider a political change urgent.
The regime itself has admitted its failure. During the most recent session of the Council of Ministers, Vice Prime Minister Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga acknowledged that "traditional methods are not yielding results", while the government promised another economic transformation that generated immediate skepticism among Cubans themselves.
"The ordinary people are still in the same situation: without food, without electricity, without drinking water, without gas for cooking, and without medications," wrote a user identified as Eloisa Melian Morfa on the Facebook page of the official media Cubadebate, summarizing in one sentence what Antonio told ABC News in front of the cameras.
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