Residents of the neighborhood of Luyanó in Havana reported this Monday a pot-banging protest and the blockage of Calzada de Concha, one of the main arteries of the Diez de Octubre municipality, in a new spontaneous protest against the blackouts that are suffocating the Cuban capital.
The report was shared on Facebook by the user Nick Austin Reloaded, who posted two short nighttime videos showing the blocked street, accompanied by the brief message: "Luyanó. Calzada de Concha. Street closed."
The protest occurs amid an unprecedented energy crisis.
According to data from the Electric Union (UNE), this Monday the generation availability was only 1,430 MW compared to a demand of 2,750 MW, with a projected shortfall for the nighttime peak of up to 1,985 MW, leaving more than half of the country without electricity.
The deficit worsened following the unexpected shutdown of unit 4 at the CTE Cienfuegos on Monday, compounded by the 96-hour maintenance of unit 1 at the CTE Felton in Holguín, further reducing the national generation capacity.
Luyanó and the Diez de Octubre municipality have a recent history of protests for the same reason.
On April 2, residents of Tamarindo Street staged a pot-banging protest after several hours without electricity, while a group of women blocked the Calzada de Diez de Octubre due to three months without water and power outages, being dispersed by the police within twenty minutes.
In the neighboring area of Santos Suárez, massive "cacerolazos" with bonfires and roadblocks were reported on March 10, 12, and 20, and the wave of protests spread to at least 12 neighborhoods in Havana between March and April, including Vedado, El Cerro, Lawton, Alamar, La Güinera, and Playa.
The regime has responded with systematic repression. A report from Cubalex published yesterday documents a "social militarization" with police and military patrols deployed in the streets, parks, and residential areas of Havana.
Desde el 6 de marzo, al menos 14 personas han sido arrestadas en la capital por participar en cacerolazos.
Blocking streets as a form of protest has a precedent in Havana: in October 2022, residents closed the Calzada del Cerro for three consecutive days, and in May 2024, a street in Centro Habana was closed following the explosion of a transformer. The pattern is repeating in 2026 with greater frequency and intensity.
Cuba has experienced at least seven total collapses of the electrical system in the last 18 months, including the national blackout on March 16, 2026, the most severe in decades, which lasted 29 hours and 29 minutes.
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