A video posted on Facebook this Friday shows a huge pile of trash accumulated at the corner of San Miguel and Soledad, in the municipality of Centro Habana, where cardboard boxes, plastic bags, clothing, and household items occupy a significant portion of the roadway while a person sifts through the waste with a wheelbarrow in search of recyclable materials.
The post by user Maykel Chapotin generated hundreds of comments expressing outrage and health concerns. A neighbor confirmed the exact location: "I saw it a while ago, it's at San Miguel and Soledad."
Health risks are a concern for the people of Havana themselves. Among the comments on the video of San Miguel and Soledad, reactions blend indignation, dark humor, and genuine alarm.
"It's not easy, clean up the trash because it's bringing an epidemic," wrote one person. Another warned: "What a tremendous hotspot and a serious infection." A biologist was more specific: "A gastroenteritis epidemic is about to break out in Havana at any moment."
The epidemiological context exacerbates the urgency. Cuba closed 2025 with at least 81,909 cases of dengue and chikungunya and 65 official deaths, in an outbreak that the newspaper The New York Times directly linked to the massive accumulation of waste. In 2026, the outbreak remained active with over 2,800 cases in 134 municipalities across the 14 provinces.
Other commentators on the video pointed directly to the political system as responsible: "Achievements of a prosperous and sustained revolution," one person ironically remarked. Another suggested, "Put the trash in the Plaza de la Revolución and see what they do."
On June 12, the Deputy Minister of Public Health, Carilda Peña, warned on official television that Cuba could face a new dengue epidemic as all four serotypes of the virus are circulating simultaneously, an indication that authorities are aware of the danger but have not managed—nor do they seem willing—to address its main cause.
The scene is not an isolated incident. So far in June, viral videos have shown Neptuno Street practically blocked by waste and a mountain of garbage obstructing the intersection of San José and Escobar, both in the same municipality.
The collapse has structural roots: since February 2026, only 44 of the 106 garbage collection trucks in the capital are operational due to a lack of fuel and mechanical deterioration.
The city generates between 24,000 and 30,000 cubic meters of solid waste each day, but the actual capacity leaves up to 23,814 cubic meters uncollected daily.
The capital has only 10,000 containers when it needs between 20,000 and 30,000. The regime itself acknowledged in December 2025 that it cannot clean the capital or pay street sweepers a decent wage.
Due to the inaction of the State, some residents have chosen to burn the accumulated waste, leading to serious consequences. On Friday, a fire caused by the burning of garbage destroyed the side door of the Parish of the Escolapios on San Nicolás Street 830, marking the fourth such incident at this church in less than three months.
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