Related videos:
The Spanish propagandist Ana Hurtado, wife of Senén Casas, son of the late General Senén Casas Regueiro, who was Raúl Castro's right-hand man, published this Friday on Facebook a proposal for a gathering with pots and pans in front of the United States Embassy in Cuba, which she referred to as "the embassy of hate in Havana."
The publication, made public while Cuba is experiencing the worst energy crisis in its recent history, closely mirrors the rhetoric of President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who in June 2026 — after the protests of June 19 — urged Cubans to direct their pot-banging against Washington with the phrase "bang your pots at the neighbors to the north."
Hurtado acknowledges in his text the suffering of the population, but redirects the responsibility towards the U.S.
"However, it is also natural to feel relief from expressing everything one thinks, after hours and hours without light and water, sometimes for days. This is why I believe in a gathering —which I propose once again— with pots and pans, as they like it, in front of the embassy of hate in Havana," he wrote.
The proposal comes at a time when Cubans are using pots and pans to protest against the regime itself.
In June 2026, 107 street protests were recorded in Cuba —a historic record—, 82 of which took place in Havana, featuring slogans such as "Freedom!", "Electricity and food", and "Down with the dictatorship". Activists called for massive daily saucepan demonstrations at 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM until July 11.
The energy situation that Hurtado briefly mentions is devastating: Cuba set a new record for electricity deficit on July 8, with 2,341 MW without generation, surpassing the previous record of 2,208 MW from June 25.
Matanzas experienced power outages of up to 87 consecutive hours; Granma and Santiago, over 48 hours; Havana, between 15 and 22 hours daily.
Far from questioning the regime, Hurtado concludes his publication with a declaration of complete trust in the government: "I have complete faith in those who know what they are doing. But we need to explain to the people what is being done."
Hurtado's profile adds a layer of meaning to her proposal. She arrived in Cuba in October 2022 under an alleged political asylum to evade Spanish justice, which condemned her to pay 10,000 euros to the Cuban doctor Lucio Enríquez Nodarse, whom she had labeled a "trafficker" and "terrorist."
In April 2024, she secretly married Lieutenant Colonel Senén Casas, son of General Senén Casas Regueiro, chief of staff of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and a trusted figure of Raúl Castro.
Since her arrival on the Island, Hurtado has published articles in official media such as Cubadebate and Telesur, labeling Cuban activists and independent journalists as "criminals" and "mercenaries." In April 2026, she publicly denied that Cuba is a dictatorship, attributing that label to the "dominant view" of Europe and the United States.
This Friday, while Hurtado was proposing his pot-banging protest in front of the U.S. embassy, Díaz-Canel was asking to "better organize" the power outages amidst the crisis, without providing concrete solutions to the millions of Cubans who have been without electricity or water for weeks.
Filed under: