A Cuban woman identified as Yanexi Vázquez posted a video on Facebook this Tuesday in which she cries out of frustration, denouncing that she has been without electricity in her neighborhood for over 40 hours. Her testimony encapsulates the exhaustion of millions of Cubans facing the worst energy crisis in decades.
The one-minute clip, which gained over 535,000 views and more than 26,000 reactions, features Vázquez directly challenging the regime with a question that resonates throughout the Island: "I wonder how much longer, over 40 hours without power, now it's about deficits, and I don't know what, it's all lies, it's all lies."
In her neighborhood, she recounts that electricity only comes for an hour and a half each day. "What's the point of having it? One hour, what can a human being accomplish in an hour?" she asks through tears.
Vázquez also rejected the government's repressive response and issued a direct warning to the authorities: "Don't send more black beret trucks, nor send anyone else to intimidate the people. Everyone here is tired. But I am tired of staying silent, I am tired."
His complaint arrives on one of the most critical days for the Cuban electrical system. This Tuesday, the Unión Eléctrica reported a availability of the National Electric System of only 1,180 MW against a demand of 2,780 MW, with a maximum projected shortfall of 2,075 MW during peak hours, enough to leave 65% of the country without power.
A failure in the transmission line between Rente and Santiago de Cuba also left the entire province of Granma without electricity.
The causes are structural: 1,203 MW unavailable due to lack of fuel, 106 distributed generation plants out of service, and aging thermal power plants with recurring failures.
The Antonio Guiteras power plant, one of the most important in the country, went offline on June 15, causing the deficit to rise to over 2,085 MW.
Power outages of 40 hours or more are not an isolated incident. In Matanzas, there have been reports of up to 85 consecutive hours without electricity; in Granma, over 72 hours; and in Holguín, only three hours of power per day.
On June 20, residents of the Playa municipality reported 40 hours of blackout in their circuit while the block in front of their homes had power, highlighting an unequal distribution of the supply.
The crisis has also paralyzed other essential services. ETECSA admitted that blackouts are leaving mobile phone service unavailable, and on June 21, residents of Havana had to walk across the bay tunnel after seven hours without bus service.
The citizen response has escalated from nightly pot-banging protests to the burning of garbage and tires in the streets. The Cuban Conflict Observatory recorded 1,311 protests just in May 2026, the highest monthly figure known, and independent media describe the wave of protests in June as the largest popular mobilization since July 11, 2021.
The regime has responded with the deployment of special forces, internet cuts in areas of protest, and at least 14 documented arrests in Havana since March.
It is precisely that display to which Vázquez refers at the end of his video, with a phrase that encapsulates the frustration of a population at its breaking point: "How long is this going to last? How long is the disrespect going to continue? Everything here is wrong, everything is wrong. Stop telling more lies."
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