A video posted this Saturday on social media shows a massive garbage dump on fire along the access road to the Alcides Pino district, one of the main entrances to the city of Holguín, in an image that locals compare to war zones.
"In Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, or any country or place in Africa... This is the access road to the Alcides Pino neighborhood, once one of the best views in the municipality of Holguín," describes the user Arturo Pablo Sánchez Zaldívar, who shared the clip, lasting just 18 seconds, on his Facebook profile.
Citizens' comments reflect indignation and resignation regarding the deterioration of what was considered for decades the cleanest city in Cuba.
"For God’s sake, I'm at a loss for words. Our beautiful province of Holguín, which has always been known for being one of the cleanest provinces, is facing a challenging situation," wrote a resident.
Another citizen was more emphatic: "This is beyond words. I never thought we would have to live through this. There is a sadness in the streets, empty parks, and the elderly waiting for death to come, without food or hopes."
A neighbor from the neighborhood confirmed that she lives in front of the burning landfill: "That is the front of my house."
Another commentator warned that the problem extends beyond that area: "It's not just in Alcides Pino, it is widespread throughout the city."
"If it's Cuba, that hurts the enlightened ones of 67 years of prosperity and well-being for the revolutionaries," concluded another citizen with irony in the comments of the video.
Since April, reports have emerged about dumpsters that ignite every night in various neighborhoods of the Cuban City of Parks, where plastics, LED tubes, food scraps, decomposing animals, and expired medication containers are burned.
The provincial broadcaster Radio Angulo acknowledged in June that Holguín went from being "one of the cleanest cities in Cuba to a landfill," and that "with each passing day, the mounds grow, overflow, and invade sidewalks, turning the environment into a constant source of pollution."
The Community Services Company has acknowledged shortages of trucks, spare parts, fuel, and labor, without providing concrete solutions.
In the absence of systematic waste collection, residents opt to burn the accumulated trash, generating smoke laden with dioxins, furans, and carbon monoxide, exacerbating respiratory illnesses in an already affected population.
The accumulation of waste also creates breeding grounds for the Aedes aegypti mosquito. In October and November of 2025, Holguín reported cases of dengue and chikungunya in almost all of its 14 municipalities, with waste identified as a determining factor.
Improvised dumps have invaded playgrounds, sports areas, riverbeds, and central roads. The Los Caballitos playground has turned into a huge dump.
The deterioration has been documented for years. Since March 2020, there have been complaints about the accumulation of garbage in the Zayas neighborhood, and in 2022, at least five dump sites were recorded within less than four blocks in the Gibara road area.
The problem is structural and acknowledged by the regime itself. The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero admitted at the end of 2025 the institutional failure in addressing the garbage collection crisis in Cuba, with that admission having led to no solutions.
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