Related videos:
Workers from the Electric Union (UNE) arrived this Wednesday in the Guantanamo neighborhood of 1 Oeste / Emilio Giró y Crombet to install two new transformers after a complaint on Facebook revealed that dozens of families had been in total darkness for 21 days.
The post that triggered the response was written by Mary Canela Tudela, who described the desperation of the neighbors in an urgent appeal that went viral on social media.
"Twenty-one days ago, something exploded that knocked out the little power generator and left us without the hour and a bit of electricity we are assigned every 24 hours. Despite numerous calls to the Electric Company operator, they came and replaced the transformer, which also had issues, and said they would return to remove the existing overload, but they never did."
According to the report, the problem originated from the explosion of a transformer, which eliminated even the meager supply allocated by circuit to the neighborhood.
Technicians from UNE initially came, replaced the equipment, but did not return to eliminate the overload that had caused the malfunction.
The day before the SOS was published, the workers attempted to reconnect the service again, but the transformer exploded once more and they took it away without returning.
"Yesterday, when we thought the problem would finally be resolved once and for all, it returned, they raised it up, and when it exploded, they took it away and never came back. We continue as children, the elderly, and an entire area completely disconnected, unable to do anything," Tudela wrote.
The situation left residents without water due to the inability to pump it, with lost food and unable to charge lamps, light bulbs, or fans.
"We need urgent help; we are exhausted from the very sad situation we are going through. Many homes are without water because it can't be pumped, numerous people have lost food, and children, the elderly, and the sick are unable to sleep... in total darkness 24/7," the author of the post detailed.
After the viralization of the complaint, the UNE responded. In a second post confirming the repairs, Tudela reported that "it was determined that the main issue is an overload that has caused this breakdown affecting many families, and today 2 new transformers are being installed to solve the problem."
This case is not isolated. The Electric Company of Guantánamo acknowledged on June 7 that eight transformers remained damaged in various municipalities of the province with no spare parts available anywhere in the country.
On June 11, a breakdown in the 110 kV line connecting Santiago de Cuba with Guantánamo left the entire province without electricity for over 24 hours, highlighting the fragility of an infrastructure that relies on a single high-voltage line.
Additionally, illegal electrical connections have been detected in Guantánamo that cause overloads in the network and accelerate the breakdown of transformers, worsening a crisis that in 2026 has forced some municipalities in eastern Cuba to endure between 20 and 30 consecutive hours without electricity.
Denunciations on social media have become the main mechanism for citizen pressure in response to institutional inaction, in a country where the regime declared on June 14 that Guantanamo was “100% electrified”, a statement that contrasts sharply with the reality experienced by residents of 1 Oeste / Emilio Giró and Crombet for three weeks.
Filed under: