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Miguel Díaz-Canel published a lengthy message on Facebook this Wednesday, where he rejected the notion that Cuba is a "failed state" and attributed the devastating energy crisis the country is experiencing to the "genocidal energy blockade" imposed by Estados Unidos, in direct response to the statements made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"Cuba is still standing, it is not a failed state," wrote Díaz-Canel in his official profile post, where he also stated that "what the spokespeople of the U.S. regime are trying to portray to the world as a direct consequence of poor management by the Cuban government is actually the result of a devious plan aimed at exacerbating the shortages and difficulties faced by the people."
The message comes at one of the worst times for the Cuban electrical system. By the nighttime peak this Wednesday, power outages in Cuba will exceed 2,000 MW, with only 1,230 MW available against a demand of 3,250 MW, leaving more than half of the country without electricity.
Díaz-Canel himself acknowledged that this Wednesday, 1,100 MW were not being generated due to fuel unavailability, and that Cuba needs at least eight fuel ships per month, but between January and April 2026, it only received one.
As evidence for his argument, the leader cited the improvement recorded in April, when the arrival of that single ship temporarily allowed for a reduction in blackouts. "The entry of a single fuel ship into Cuban ports, out of the eight that are needed as a minimum each month, made it possible to reduce the deficit," he wrote.
The debate over whether Cuba is a "failed state" intensified on May 5, when Rubio dismantled the Cuban regime during a press conference at the White House. "The only thing worse than a communist is an incompetent communist. And that’s what we have: incompetent communists running that country. They don’t know how to fix it. They really don’t know," stated the Secretary of State.
Rubio also denied the existence of a specific oil embargo: "There is no oil blockade against Cuba as such. The only blockade that has occurred is that the Venezuelans decided not to give them free oil anymore."
While Díaz-Canel was sharing his message of resilience, the reality on the streets of Havana contradicted his narrative. This Wednesday, residents of San Miguel del Padrón staged a pot-banging protest in front of the municipal government headquarters with the slogan "Food and electricity!"
The night before, a pot-banging protest in Reparto Bahía chanted "Down with the dictatorship!", and early Wednesday morning, residents of Marianao took to the streets with bonfires and burning trash. On Monday, residents of Luyanó blocked Calzada de Concha in protest against power outages lasting over twenty hours.
This Wednesday, graffiti with "Patria y Vida" and messages against Díaz-Canel appeared painted on electrical infrastructures in Arroyo Naranjo.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,133 protests in April 2026, a 29.5% increase compared to the same month the previous year, with 176 documented repressive acts. The regime has responded with militarization and at least 14 arrests in Havana since March 6 related to pot-banging protests.
Díaz-Canel concluded his message with a promise of resilience; however, he toned down his rhetoric to assure that the regime was open to dialogue: "Always willing to engage in dialogue on equal terms, we will continue to resist and create, increasingly convinced that it is our duty to leap over the enormous difficulties with our own efforts."
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