Residents of several municipalities in La Habana staged nightly pot-banging protests this Monday in protest against the prolonged blackouts suffocating the Cuban capital, during a new day of popular discontent documented by journalist Mario J. Pentón on his social media.
The protests spread to at least Regla and San Miguel del Padrón. Since the first case, a resident exclaimed: “Regla is heated, here we are. Regla heated up today, June first. Here we are, let the Americans come already, we really need them.” Facebook users reported incidents in other municipalities of the capital.
The electrical crisis that triggers these protests has reached critical levels. According to data from the Electric Union (UNE), this Monday Cuba had a capacity of only 1,170 MW compared to a demand of 2,700 MW in the morning, with 1,535 MW affected.
For peak hours, the UNE projected a demand of 3,100 MW with a deficit of 1,930 MW and an estimated impact of 1,960 MW, figures that reflect the collapse of the national energy system.
Among the causes of the disaster: 106 distributed generation plants out of service due to lack of fuel, equivalent to 890 MW, and a total of 1,203 MW unavailable solely due to fuel shortages. The thermoelectric plants Antonio Guiteras, Ernesto Guevara, Lidio Ramón Pérez, Antonio Maceo, Mariel, Renté, and Nuevitas experienced simultaneous issues.
The protests on Monday are not an isolated event. Last Thursday, there were demonstrations in Cayo Hueso and Centro Habana due to prolonged blackouts, and on Wednesday, May 27, residents of Zanja and Hospital also took to the streets.
On May 14, Havana erupted in simultaneous protests in San Miguel del Padrón, Luyanó, Marianao, Guanabacoa, Santos Suárez, Lawton, Playa, and El Vedado, with street blockades during blackouts lasting over 20 hours.
The Minister of Energy and Mines himself, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged power outages of between 20 and 22 hours daily in some circuits in Havana during May.
The cycle of protests began powerfully on March 7, when blackouts sparked protests with pots and pans in Havana and Jagüey Grande, Matanzas. Since then, at least 14 people have been arrested in the capital in connection with these mobilizations.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,133 protests in just April 2026, an increase of 29.5% compared to the same month in 2025, highlighting a sustained escalation of social discontent in the face of a dictatorship that offers no solutions to the energy crisis.
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