Neighbors from several municipalities in Havana staged nighttime pot-banging protests this Monday in protest against the prolonged blackouts that suffocate the Cuban capital, marking a new day of public discontent documented on social media.
The protests spread to at least Regla and San Miguel del Padrón. Since the first incident, a resident exclaimed: "Regla is heated up, here we are. Regla is heated up here today, June 1st. 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 an availability of only 1,170 MW against 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 were experiencing simultaneous issues.
The pot banging on Monday is not an isolated event. Last Thursday, there were protests in Key West and Centro Habana following extended power outages, 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 power outages lasting over 20 hours.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged power outages of between 20 and 22 hours daily in some Havana circuits during May.
The cycle of protests began strongly on March 7, when power outages sparked protests 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 April 2026 alone, a 29.5% increase compared to the same month in 2025, highlighting a sustained escalation of social discontent in the face of a dictatorship that fails to provide solutions to the energy crisis.
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