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The Cuban journalist Yirmara Torres Hernández reported this week on Facebook that the neighborhood Los Mangos, in Matanzas, experienced 55 consecutive hours without electricity, marking one of the longest blackouts in that province.
The report came in two consecutive posts. First, Torres Hernández reported 46 hours without electricity in Los Mangos and then updated the number to 55 hours with the ironic comment: "Who gives more?".
Torres Hernández was the president of the Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC) in Matanzas for seven years and resigned from her position in February 2023 after 14 years in the organization's executive roles.
Since then, he has documented on social media the deterioration of basic services in the province, including outages that in March 2026 he described as "psychological torture."
At that time, power outages lasted 32, 24, and even 26 consecutive hours, with only two or three hours of electrical service.
In May 2026, the journalist also reported nearly two months without water in her area of Matanzas while the liquid was being wasted on the street due to leaks.
The worst electricity crisis in the history of Cuba
The Electric Union (UNE) projected a shortfall of 2,045 MW on June 8 during peak hours, with only 1,035 MW available against a demand of 3,050 MW.
Matanzas has been one of the provinces most repeatedly affected. In January 2026, over 40 hours without electricity were reported in Colón, and in March, more than 100 hours of blackout were reported in a building in the city.
The crisis has also sparked a wave of protests in Cuba during June 2026, with noisy demonstrations and marches in Havana, Regla, Guanabacoa, and other municipalities. The Cuban Conflict Observatory warned that the country is experiencing the highest level of social mobilization since July 11, 2021.
The worst deficit recorded so far in 2026 occurred on May 14, when the UNE reported 2,174 MW of impact with only 976 MW available, a figure that reflects the structural collapse of an electrical system deteriorated by decades of lack of maintenance, fuel shortages, and debts to external suppliers.
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