Neighbors from El Vedado, Centro Habana, and Playa took to the streets on Tuesday night with pots and pans to protest against the blackouts that are suffocating them, in a new day of protests shaking the Cuban capital.
The videos that were shared show residents near the iconic Focsa building in El Vedado and near 70th Avenue in Playa, claiming that they only receive one hour of electricity per day.
"Animals are what were living here, animals," shouted a neighbor from Vedado during the protest.
"We're already tired of this," is heard in another of the videos of the pot-banging protest in El Vedado, which summarizes the frustration accumulated after weeks of almost total blackouts.
A female voice warned during the protest that "they've already called in the command," referring to the police presence that was deployed in the area following the pot-banging.
In Playa, a resident explained the situation they are facing: "45 minutes, an hour, all the mothers, everyone, because the food spoiled. Here, no one has food."
For her part, Glenda Rancano reported on Facebook that people were also protesting in Centro Habana.
The protests this Tuesday are not isolated events, but rather the continuation of a wave that has been shaking Havana since March 2026.
On Monday, protests with pots and pans were reported in Regla, Centro Habana, Habana Vieja, Cayo Hueso, and San Miguel del Padrón, and on May 31, residents of Cayo Hueso protested after receiving only an hour and a half of electricity in nearly two days.
The Playa municipality has a long history of protests since March 9, with episodes in Miramar, Jaimanitas, Buenavista, Querejeta, and the area along Avenue 70.
On March 10, independent journalist Yunia Figueredo was arrested in Jaimanitas during one of those protests with pots and pans, and on April 8, a new protest erupted in Querejeta following more than ten hours without electricity.
The energy crisis fueling these protests is structural and has worsened steadily.
On May 13, the Electric Union reported a record deficit of 2,113 MW, with only 1,230 MW available against a demand of 3,250 MW, and the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, publicly acknowledged that the country had no reserves of fuel oil or diesel.
In some circuits in Havana, blackouts last between 20 and 22 hours daily, according to news reports.
The regime's response has included police deployment, internet cuts, and detentions: Cubalex documented at least 14 arrests in Havana due to these protests since March 6th.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,245 protests in March and 1,133 in April, marking an annual increase of 29.5%, describing the situation as the highest level of social conflict in Cuba since July 11, 2021.
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