A resident of the Isle of Youth lamented on social media the purchase of a small can of minced meat for 700 Cuban pesos at a street vendor, which arrived at her home with a foul smell, a greenish color, and completely fermented, in a testimony that reflects the food and energy crisis that Cuba is experiencing.
"I live in Cuba and here they sell spoiled food," confessed the author of the video posted on Friday on her Instagram account @Yanet_diary.
"Sadly, it's such a disappointment to arrive at public places and find the food being sold in those conditions. But it's not so much the vendors as it is the lack of electricity, which is mostly to blame," he added.
The woman explained that in the special municipality, "we only have power for two hours a day, every eight hours," which completely disrupts the cold chain and spoils the food before it reaches the consumer.
The author also pointed out the extreme isolation of the territory. "Where have we ended up in our Isle of Youth? It now relies on a boat just once a week for people to come and go to meet their needs. And to make matters worse, the ferry is currently not operating."
The ferry Perseverancia, the only maritime link between the Isle of Youth and Batabanó, is out of service due to a malfunction in its electric motor.
The comments on the video reflect citizens' outrage. "No one can handle so many problems, how sad," wrote a user.
Another was more direct: "Cuba can produce its own resources, but it's easier to blame another country than to accept the communist system of the Cuban regime."
A third comment pointed to the structural root of the problem: "It is unfortunate how the Government does nothing in Cuba [...] after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the Government implemented a land reform, where most of the private lands of Cubans became state property. This is why Cubans do not have the freedom to farm or fish."
One day earlier, another Cuban shared in a video her frustration over losing a chicken and other food due to power outages.
According to the National Food Security Survey 2025 from the Food Monitor Program, 47.59% of Cuban households lost refrigerated food due to blackouts, a figure that exceeds 80% in Granma, Matanzas, Pinar del Río, and Sancti Spíritus.
The national electricity crisis recorded on Saturday a supply of only 1,270 MW against a demand of 3,050 MW, with eight out of 16 thermoelectric units out of service and 106 distributed generation plants shut down due to a lack of fuel.
The pattern of spoiled food is recurring. In April, a store delivered only one pound of sugar and three of rice "infested with pests", and that same month the government of Las Tunas sold eggs for 60 pesos each with a limit of five per person.
By 2026, 96.91% of the Cuban population lacks adequate food, according to the Food Monitor Program, while the Island's economy is projected to decline by an additional 7.2% this year.
Filed under: