Neighbors of the neighborhood El Vedado, in Havana, held a loud pot-banging demonstration in broad daylight this Tuesday at the intersection of 13 and M streets, protesting against the prolonged power outages that have left them almost completely without electricity since the previous day.
The independent journalist Camila Acosta documented and spread news of the protest on social media, noting that residents in the area had only received half an hour of electricity since Tuesday: "Protest in Vedado, 13 and M, Havana, in broad daylight. Since yesterday, they have only had half an hour of electricity. The police surrounded the neighborhood."
Another source identified as Alma Tapia Ritual reported that the pot-banging protests started very early in the morning and that the situation was escalating moment by moment: "There is international media, and patrols and motorbikes keep arriving to intimidate and try to dismantle, but the people are already tired."
The same source warned that tension was rising in the area: "I've just been told that Calle 13 is heating up, so everyone stay alert."
The electrical crisis that sparked the protest reaches critical levels this Wednesday. The Cuban Electric Union reported an availability of only 1,160 MW against a demand of 2,689 MW, with 1,548 MW affected since 6:00 AM and a projected nighttime deficit of up to 1,940 MW.
On Tuesday, the electric service was affected for a full 24 hours, with a peak impact of 1,918 MW recorded at 8:40 PM.
El Vedado has become one of the recurring epicenters of popular protest in 2026. Pots and pans protests in front of the PCC Central Committee shook the neighborhood in March, following power outages of over thirty hours, and the demonstrations repeated in May and the early days of June.
On Tuesday, new rounds of protests took place in several municipalities of Havana, including Regla and San Miguel del Padrón, in a wave of protests that shows no signs of abating.
The regime's response to these mobilizations has followed a systematic pattern of intimidation. On May 14, the police beat protesters in Playa, and on May 21, a protest in Alamar ended with police repression and at least one arrest.
Since March 6, the organization Cubalex has documented at least 14 arrests in Havana linked to protests against power outages.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,245 protests in March 2026 and 1,133 in April, figures that represent the highest levels of social conflict since the protests on July 11, 2021.
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