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A report shared on social media this Wednesday raised alarms about the massive accumulation of garbage on 75th Street in the Tulipán neighborhood of Cienfuegos, where an improvised dump in front of occupied buildings poses a health risk to dozens of families.
The complaint, published on the Facebook profile of Elaine Castro Castañeda and directed to the Provincial Government and the People's Power of Cienfuegos, was accompanied by photographs showing large accumulations of solid waste, including plastic bags, cardboard, branches, and decomposing organic waste spread out in front of multi-family buildings where children, the elderly, and other vulnerable individuals reside.
"This photo is not from a landfill. It is from Calle 75 in Tulipán. It is where the children play. It is where the elderly breathe. It is where you do not live," stated the author of the text, who questioned the explanations provided by the authorities to justify the lack of garbage collection.
According to the complaint, the official response that there is not enough fuel to guarantee the service contrasts with the availability of resources for other activities.
"To say 'there is no oil' is to admit that the country is broken, that they lie on television, and that they don't care if the people get sick," he stated.
The publication also warns about the health risks associated with the accumulation of waste. Among the diseases mentioned are dengue, zika, chikungunya, leptospirosis, acute diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections caused by the burning of waste, hepatitis A, tetanus, scabies, fungi, typhus, and other pathologies related to unsanitary conditions.
Comments from other residents suggest that the problem has spread beyond Reparto Tulipán. One neighbor stated that she lives near the landfill and that the foul smell and flies are already affecting her home. She reported that while trash accumulates in several residential areas, she does see trucks dumping waste in other parts of the city.
Another resident reported that San Carlos Avenue has lost part of its traffic capacity due to the accumulation of garbage. "It only has one lane now; the other half is garbage from the sidewalk to the middle of the street," she stated.
Other comments directly blame the authorities for the worsening situation. "This is indifference and a lack of respect for us, the people," wrote a user, who recalled that during the Special Period, carts and horses were used for waste collection and asserted that they had never seen such a level of deterioration as the current one.
"Cuba is filled with epidemics; we are a people left to the mercy of God," summarized a citizen in the comments of the post.
The author of the complaint concluded her text with a phrase that encapsulates the frustration of the residents of Tulipán: "Cienfuegos is marketed as 'The Pearl of the South.' What pearl? This is a necklace of disease."
The report reflects the growing public discontent over the decline of communal services in a city that has been promoted for decades as the Pearl of the South, but where complaints about garbage accumulation and unsanitary conditions in urban spaces are becoming increasingly common.
The situation in Cienfuegos is not new. Rancho Luna beach, the most visited in the province, was already described in August 2025 as a coastal gem sinking in neglect.
In April, a garbage truck was driving through the historic center with its wheels completely destroyed.
The phenomenon is national. The New York Times linked the accumulation of trash in Cuba to the outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya that have caused dozens of deaths.
The Ministry of Public Health officially recognized 33 deaths in the recent epidemic wave—12 from dengue and 21 from chikungunya—while independent organizations raise the figure to 87 deaths just in October and November 2025.
In Santiago de Cuba, the Catholic Church made a public appeal a few days ago, due to the proliferation of rodents inside the temple and trash bin fires during events with senior citizens.
In Holguín, the landfills have been burning every night for months, emitting dioxins and carbon monoxide over residential areas.
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