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A Cuban mother identified as Arisleydis Hernández posted a heart-wrenching plea on Facebook regarding the situation of her son, an adult with Down syndrome who has been without electricity for over 50 hours, and whose multiple illnesses put him in a life-threatening situation with each blackout.
In her post, Arisleydis described her son's clinical condition with a rawness that moved those who read it: "He's a heart patient. Literally, his heart is hollow inside. He's asthmatic, and moreover, he has only one functioning lung. He has only one kidney. He's epileptic. He has a bleeding ulcer that, when I least expect it, causes him to vomit blood."
Without electricity, the young man cannot blend his food, cannot sleep, and can barely eat.
"IT'S INHUMANE. Please, how far are they going to take us? I can't stand it any longer. I said: 'ENOUGH!'" the mother wrote at the end of her first post.
Hours later, Arisleydis updated the situation with a second message that was even harsher: the total blackout had reached 63 hours without electricity, and after a brief restoration of service, the outage extended another six hours.
"Enough is enough. I can't take it anymore. I can't go out and hit the pots, but I WILL NOT BE SILENCED. NO. What is happening now, more than cruelty, is genocide," he wrote.
The mother also highlighted the contradiction between the suffering of the average Cuban and the privileges of the elite: "Many birthdays celebrated with theaters filled with lights. A lot of summer kick-offs in Varadero for VIP guests with clubs in full swing, and here we are. The average Cuban struggling to make ends meet."
He also dismissed the official argument that attributes the crisis to the U.S. embargo: "And then 'RESIST,' it's all the fault of the 'BLOCKADE.' Please, that's nonsense, NOOO. Lie to me, I like it."
The case of Arisleydis is not isolated. In April 2026, the humanitarian project "Dar es Dar" requested assistance to acquire portable power stations for six children with serious illnesses in Pinar del Río who depend on electricity for feeding or breathing.
In January 2026, a campaign sought generators for three severely ill girls, including Yeilín, a two-year-old with type one spinal muscular atrophy who is dependent on a permanent mechanical ventilator.
The energy crisis that makes this suffering possible has historical dimensions.
According to data from the Electric Union on Saturday, the National Electric System had only 1,090 MW available against a demand of 2,557 MW at six in the morning, with projected blackouts of 1,990 MW for the night hours.
On Friday, the service was affected for a full 24 hours, with a maximum impact of 1,878 MW. On May 14, a record deficit of 2,174 MW was recorded, with only 976 MW available nationwide.
The UN has warned that over 100,000 patients have delayed surgeries due to power outages, including more than 11,000 children, a figure that illustrates the scale of a health emergency that the Cuban regime continues to refuse to acknowledge.
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