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Just over six months after the Cuban regime incorporated 15 electric hearses into the funeral services of Havana, the official Cubadebate published a report that mixes concrete data with the usual triumphalist tone, but which also reveals the structural limitations of a measure that does not extend beyond the capital.
According to the report from the state media, vehicles from the Foton brand —managed by the state mipyme ServiAxess— have covered more than 104,000 kilometers in the capital by April 27, participated in over 4,600 funerals and 814 cremations, and generated savings equivalent to about 15,000 liters of fuel.
The vehicles started operating on December 27, 2025 with free service for the public, funded by the state budget, and they are primarily charged using solar panels installed at the parking base, supported by the National Electric System and an emergency generator.
Diosdado Martín Moret, director of ServiAxess, acknowledged that at the beginning, four out of the 15 vehicles experienced electrical failures due to battery exhaustion during transport from China, although the issue was resolved without major setbacks.
José Mujica Góngora, director of Funeral Services in Havana, described the change as "remarkable" and explained the root of the previous chaos: "It was very difficult to meet schedules because a single vehicle had to cover three fundamental activities: picking up from hospitals and health centers, transporting to the crematoriums, and conducting burials in the various cemeteries of the city."
Now, the fleet is exclusively dedicated to funerals, which improves punctuality. ServiAxess covers 90% of the daily services; the remaining 10% is managed by the Necrological Services Company of Havana. María Esther Adán, coordinator of the Santiago de las Vegas funeral home with 18 years of experience, summed up the change with a vivid image: "Many times the car is here up to half an hour before leaving for the burial."
However, the context that the authorities overlook is crucial. Outside of Havana, the funeral crisis remains unresolved: in Camagüey, there was only one operational hearse for the entire city in 2025; in Ciego de Ávila, only eight out of 19 vehicles were operational in February of that year. In Holguín, a family had to improvise a cardboard coffin in February 2026, and in Santiago de Cuba, a coffin was transported in a cage truck due to a lack of funeral vehicles.
The energy context is also not helpful: with power outages lasting up to 18-20 hours daily and an actual electricity availability of 35-45% in 2026, the investment in electric vehicles with solar panels seems more viable for Havana, but it does not address the collapse across the rest of the country. Citizens on social media have questioned the model of the state-owned mipyme that manages the new funeral vehicles from the start, labeling it as a "hidden privatization" that benefits those close to the power.
Cubadebate itself acknowledges at the end of its report that the funeral crisis outside the capital "is seriously affected not only by the lack of fuel but also by the lack of vehicles," and that expanding the model would be "a natural and necessary step" — an implicit recognition that 15 vehicles in Havana are merely a temporary fix in a system that has been broken for decades.
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