A Cuban mother identified as Sisi Aguilera published a video on Facebook this Friday in which she calls on her fellow countrymen to document and share the crisis they are experiencing in their homes, despite the fear of reprisals from the regime. The video garnered over 7,200 views, 572 reactions, and 81 comments within just a few hours.
The call came a day after Cuba experienced its fourth total blackout of the year, which occurred on Friday, July 10, when the collapse of the National Electric System left approximately 73% of the population without electricity.
"It is no secret that there is no freedom of expression in Cuba, that we are afraid to show our reality because we do not know if someone will knock on our door, but we have reached a point of no return. Our children do not sleep, some do not have food to eat," Aguilera stated in the description of his post.
In the video, the content creator tours the interiors of her own house, her mother's, and those of several neighbors with the camera, allowing the images to speak for themselves.
"Showing the reality of our homes can be a very strong step. For the world to know and see, because it's not the same to talk about it as it is to show it, that this is a humanitarian crisis, that Cubans are dying," he stated.
Its central message speaks directly to the fear that paralyzes many Cubans: "Showing the reality is not a crime, it is not a sin. A reality that is frightening because our children are going hungry."
Aguilera tagged the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the official account of the presidency of the United States in her post, directing her complaint to U.S. authorities with a brief statement: "Cuba cries out for help."
The video is published at one of the most critical moments of the Cuban energy crisis. In Matanzas, outages have reached 87 consecutive hours; in Havana, the average is 15 hours daily, with reports of up to 35 hours in some neighborhoods. This Saturday, only 12.6% of the capital had electricity partially restored.
The electricity crisis exacerbates an equally severe food emergency. A survey from May 2026 revealed that 33.9% of Cuban households have at least one member who goes to bed hungry, nine percentage points higher than in 2024. 80.4% of families cannot cook due to blackouts, and 48.3% lose food due to a lack of refrigeration.
The fear described by Aguilera is backed by concrete figures. Ninety-two percent of young Cubans state that they refrain from expressing themselves on social media due to fear of reprisal, and Law 178/2025 criminalizes the dissemination of images and what is termed “misinformation” on digital platforms.
In 2025, there were 529 arbitrary detentions and more than 3,100 documented repressive actions reported by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights.
However, more and more Cubans are losing their fear of speaking out and are using social media to document their reality. Aguilera's video joins other viral testimonies from July 2026, such as that of a young woman who recorded 80 hours without electricity or water, and that of mother Subdraine Portales, who denounced in June the paradox of seeing Varadero lit up for tourism while the rest of the island remains in darkness.
"If you are an influencer, if you are a content creator, if you are a neighbor, if you simply follow me but are afraid to show that reality, there are thousands of ways to do it," Aguilera concluded in her appeal.
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