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The National Electric System (SEN) of Cuba experienced another total disconnection this Friday at 4:30 PM, as announced by the Electric Union (UNE) on its official Facebook page, triggering a wave of ironic comments and outrage that pointed directly to the eve of the fifth anniversary of July 11, 2021.
The collapse comes just four days after the total blackout on July 6, the seventh in the last 18 months, and on the same day that Díaz-Canel publicly called for “better organization of blackouts” amid the energy crisis.
The coincidence of dates did not go unnoticed by Cubans. “Remember that tomorrow is July 11”. The 10th has passed and won't return until the 12th,” wrote a user.
Another was more direct: "Everything is ready for the big party tomorrow." A third one counted the seconds: "You are a joke. Tick tock, tick tock, 11-07-2026."
Several comments linked the blackout to the possibility that it was intentional. "One day before July 11, this is on purpose; they are already testing us. Well, let them play with the chain," warned an internet user. Another declared: "Karma doesn't forgive."
The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, which has experienced 17 system outages so far in 2026 and has not received capital maintenance since 2010, became the target of popular irony.
"The Guiteras is going out, the SEN is going down. The Guiteras is coming in and the SEN is falling too... Let me tell you," summarized a commentator. Another added: "It's no longer the Guiteras that is falling every other day; now it's the SEN."
The overall tone fluctuated between resignation and dark humor. "It doesn't matter what day you see this, what time, or what year, the SEN has crashed," wrote a user with a phrase that encapsulates the perception of the normalization of disaster.
Others were more succinct: "Current currency, unfortunately," "We're used to it," "What a disgusting life," or "Just hand over the country."
The irony also reached those who profit from the crisis: "Well, those who sell solar panels are rubbing their hands," noted a commentator. Another described the UNE with a phrase that blends wit and frustration: "They are a poem, and not precisely one by Neruda."
The energy context is one of historic crisis. The record electricity deficit of 2,341 MW was recorded just on July 8, with available generation at 935 MW against a demand of 3,100 MW.
Power outages in Havana average 15 hours daily in July, and some areas have experienced more than 72 consecutive hours without electricity.
July 11, 2021, marked the largest social upheaval in Cuba since 1959, triggered in part by the same blackouts and shortages that persist today.
Five years later, at least 338 people remain sanctioned directly for those protests, within a total of 1,281 political prisoners recorded by human rights organizations as of May 2026.
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