Residents of the Rampa Vedado Popular Council banged pots and pans on Monday night in protest of the prolonged blackouts affecting the area, with outages lasting almost 24 consecutive hours in the heart of Havana.
The demonstration took place at 9 PM and was heard on the streets of 17 and M, N and 17, and M street, just a few meters from the iconic FOCSA building. An eyewitness who recorded the event live described the scene: "They only played inside the houses, the police car was passing by slowly."
The presence of a police patrol slowly巡 the area led residents to maintain the protest from inside their homes, without venturing out onto the street.
The FOCSA is a completely electric building: its elevators, kitchens, and water supply rely entirely on electricity. Any prolonged power outage collapses all its basic services, turning power cuts into an emergency for its residents.
On June 10, a resident of the area reported being without electricity for 23 hours; when the power returned, it lasted just an hour and a few minutes.
The energy crisis driving these protests has reached critical levels this Tuesday: Cuba anticipates a generation deficit of 2,035 MW during peak nighttime hours, with only 1,180 MW available against a demand of 3,250 MW, according to the official forecast of the national electric system.
Out of that deficit, 1,203 MW are inactive due to a lack of fuel, and another 410 MW remain out of service due to technical failures. The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the country, recorded its 15th breakdown of the year on June 15.
In Havana, power outages can last between twenty and twenty-four hours a day; in provinces like Matanzas and Santiago de Cuba, residents receive only one or two hours of electricity daily.
The pot-banging protest on Monday in Rampa Vedado adds to a sustained wave of protests that has shaken the capital since March 8, 2026, with documented episodes in Santos Suárez, Regla, Centro Habana, Playa, Nuevo Vedado, San Miguel del Padrón, and Marianao.
On June 3rd, residents of El Vedado had already staged daytime pot-banging protests in front of the PCC Central Committee, with a significant police presence in the area.
On June 11, residents of Santos Suárez banged pots and pans after 31 consecutive hours without electricity. On June 20, protests in San Miguel del Padrón escalated to the burning of tires in the street.
The organization Cubalex documented at least 14 arrests in Havana related to these demonstrations since March 6th.
Among those detained is Yunaiky Linares, a former political prisoner from the 11J, who was arrested on June 2 in Arroyo Naranjo along with her stepfather for protesting against power outages.
As repression intensifies, regime officials have responded to citizens' despair with advice that encapsulates the chasm between those in power and the population: "Resist creatively."
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