New and strong popular demonstrations erupted this Wednesday in various locations across Havana, featuring pot-banging, anti-communist slogans, and road blockages reported simultaneously in different municipalities of the Cuban capital.
The journalist Mario J. Pentón reported on his social media about nighttime protests in the neighborhoods of Lawton, Luyanó, and Santo Suárez, which are part of the Diez de Octubre municipality.
"Strong demonstrations in Diez de Octubre: Lawton, Luyanó, and Santo Suárez, the sound of pots and anti-communist slogans can be heard," wrote Pentón.
In parallel, the same journalist reported demonstrations in Guanabacoa, on Calzada Vieja, where pot banging and street closures were also reported by the residents themselves.
Shortly after, he added videos from neighbors in Puentes Grandes on the streets, after more than 20 hours without electricity.
The protests on this Thursday are not an isolated incident, but rather the most recent point in a wave of discontent that intensified since March 7, 2026, when the protests began to spread across multiple neighborhoods in the capital and other provinces.
In the days leading up, there had already been a protest in front of the government headquarters of San Miguel del Padrón with the slogan "Power and food!", a pots and pans protest in Reparto Bahía with shouts of "Down with the dictatorship!", a blockade on Calzada de Concha in Luyanó, and bonfires in Marianao early this Thursday morning.
The immediate trigger is the worst energy crisis of the year. On Wednesday, the Electric Union reported a record impact of 2,113 MW at 8:40 PM, the largest electrical deficit recorded so far in 2026, surpassing the previous maximum of 2,075 MW on March 6.
Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged on his Facebook account that the situation of the National Electric System was "particularly tense," projecting a deficit exceeding 2,000 MW during peak nighttime hours.
In some circuits of Havana, power outages have reached between 20 and 22 hours daily, as admitted by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy.
The minister himself acknowledged that Cuba did not receive any fuel ships from December 2025 until the end of March 2026, except for a Russian donation of 100,000 tons of crude oil, which only provided temporary relief in April.
The neighborhoods where the protests took place this Thursday—Lawton, Luyanó, Santo Suárez, and Guanabacoa—are historically popular areas that have been affected by the decline of infrastructure and the scarcity of basic services.
The regime's response to the increasing conflict has included arrests: at least 14 people have been detained in Havana in connection with protests since March 6.
The Cuban Conflict Observatory recorded 1,133 protests just in April 2026, a 29.5% increase compared to the same month of the previous year, reflecting a sustained upward trend in social conflict throughout the island.
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