Residents of Toledo, in the province of Artemisa, took to the streets to protest against the prolonged blackouts affecting the area and were involved in a tense confrontation with police officers that ended with the patrol fleeing following the crowd's reaction.
Videos shared on Facebook show the protesters, and some charged at a police patrol after officers detained a young man, forcing the police to leave the area.
A neighbor who appears in the recording describes the scene with indignation: "Look, this is in Artemisa, Toledo, and the police already came and took people away, and we haven't done anything, we just put up signs, that's it, we haven't done anything else."
Cuban authorities have not issued any official statement regarding the incidents reported in Artemisa.
The protest is taking place against the backdrop of an energy crisis that has reached historic levels in Cuba. On Monday, the electric deficit approached 1,940 MW during peak hours, with only 1,160 MW available against actual demand.
The most critical point was recorded on May 13, when the deficit reached a record of 2,153 MW, leading to power outages of up to 22 hours a day in Havana and other provinces.
That same week, protests spread to at least 12 municipalities in Havana with pot-banging, street blockades, and slogans such as "Food and electricity!", "Down with the dictatorship!", and "Light up the lights!", in what was deemed the largest wave of demonstrations since July 11, 2021.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,245 protests in March 2026 and 1,133 in April, marking a 29.5% increase compared to the same month of the previous year, along with 176 documented repressive acts in April alone.
At least 14 people were arrested in Havana during the protests in May, and a mother from the Marianao municipality was arrested on Monday for asking for food for her son, in the context of the same wave of discontent.
Artemisa is not unfamiliar with this conflict: in November 2024, only 51.69% of its population had access to electricity supply, according to data from the National Defense Council.
The tactic of detaining protesters to disperse demonstrations has been documented in multiple episodes across Cuba, and the response of neighbors confronting patrols to defend the detainees has direct precedents in the events of July 11, 2021, and in subsequent protests recorded throughout the country.
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