A cow leisurely wandering outside of the Terminal 3 of José Martí International Airport in Havana has become the latest viral symbol of the deterioration facing Cuba, after a 21-second video posted on TikTok garnered over 206,000 views and sparked a flood of comments characterized by the typical dark humor of Cubans.
The clip was published by the user @angel_manz_ with the description "This is how things are in Havana," and within a few days, it garnered 9,288 likes, 822 comments, and 8,330 shares.
Terminal 3 is the main international gateway of the country, handling flights from the United States, including those from Miami, which sparked the creativity of internet users.
Among the comments that resonated the most were "Searching for Freedom," "there's no more grass," and "The new taxis," but the one that received the most applause was: "She came from Miami to see her boyfriend," an ironic reference to the flow of Cubans from the diaspora who travel to the island to visit their partners.
The image is particularly striking because in Cuba, slaughtering cattle without state authorization is a crime, which makes the cow a legally protected animal that, paradoxically, appears roaming freely in front of the country's most important airport.
It is not the first time a cow has starred in a viral moment in Havana. In December 2023, a confirmed video showed people dismembering a cow on a busy road in the capital, highlighting the food desperation of the population.
Terminal 3 itself has a history of incidents that reflect the general condition of Cuban facilities. In September 2025, a pipe break forced the temporary closure of the terminal and the rerouting of flights from airlines such as Conviasa, Copa Airlines, and Neos to Terminal 2.
That same month, the airport operated with alternative equipment due to failures in the air conditioning system of Terminal 3, and in August 2025, images circulated showing crowds of travelers outside the Havana airport.
The context surrounding the scene is one of an unprecedented crisis. The World Food Program reported in February 2026 that the suspension of fuel supplies from Venezuela was disrupting essential services in Cuba, including food supply chains, and that the country experienced a GDP contraction of 1.1% in 2024 with persistent inflation and widespread shortages.
An inspection conducted in July 2025 had already revealed the deteriorating condition of Cuban airports, but no technical report managed to depict this reality as strikingly as a cow grazing in front of the international terminal.
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