A group of exhausted habaneros, after waiting more than seven hours at the bus stops without any guagua appearing, decided to cross the Havana Bay tunnel on foot, confirmed Cuban activist Yamilka Lafita, known as Lara Crofs, this Saturday on her Facebook profile.
Crofs described the scene as "a very harsh landscape" that she encountered upon returning home. She and other private drivers made two trips transporting those waiting to cross for free, until a police officer fined them for "obstructing traffic" while one of them was helping a mother with her young daughter get in.
"It got really heated," wrote the activist, who described the situation in the capital as "desperate": more than 40 hours of blackout for every three hours of electricity, skyrocketing coal prices, a gas canister at 50 dollars, and a water truck that can cost 50,000 Cuban pesos.
The citizens' outrage over the fine imposed on those who were helping was immediate in the comments on the post. "How can they issue a fine if they are helping? They should be thanking him," wrote one person.
Another pointed out, "It's horrible, but the worst part is the silence and that everyone says: 'What are we going to do? If you protest, they’ll come down on you with clubs.'"
Crofs concluded his publication with a warning that encapsulates the mood of many Habana residents: "My neighborhood is preparing for protests; the sounds of the pots are already starting to be heard."
The episode occurs days after the regime implemented the most severe cut to national transportation since the beginning of the energy crisis, with interprovincial buses reduced to three weekly frequencies and trains heading east operating once every 16 days.
The root of the collapse is the fuel shortage: Cuba went without imported crude oil from December 2025 to April 2026 following the interruption of shipments from Venezuela and Mexico, which led to a 93% drop in state passenger transport between January and September 2025.
The most reported paradox by Cubans occurred on May 22, when the regime mobilized dozens of state buses for a political event in support of Raúl Castro at the Antimperialist Tribune, while public transportation remained paralyzed for the population.
It's not the first time that the tunnel, a structure 733 meters long that connects the center of the capital with the municipalities to the east, has become the scene of a crisis. In June 2025, a bus from route A40 ran out of fuel inside the tunnel, forcing passengers, including minors, to exit on foot.
The unrest is overflowing on social media. This Saturday, neighbors in Regla banged pots during the day to protest against power outages lasting over 30 consecutive hours, and the pot-banging protests intensified in various neighborhoods of Havana such as Carlos III, San Miguel del Padrón, La Güinera, and Santos Suárez.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,311 protests in May, with electricity being the main trigger.
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