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A host from Radio 26, the official station of the province of Matanzas, published an unusual message on social media in which she confessed to feeling overwhelmed by the crisis in Cuba and admitted that, for the first time, she is questioning whether it was a mistake not to have emigrated when she had the chance.
Iris Castro Gutiérrez's reflection, host of the program Frecuencia Abierta, was shared on Saturday on Facebook, just hours after the fourth total collapse of the National Electric System (SEN) so far in 2026, and has garnered attention for coming from a professional working in one of the state media outlets.
"Disheartened, with tears in my eyes, I thought and rethought: Goodness, why so many punishments? What was the crime I committed? Was it that I didn't leave back then? Are they punishing me for loving? For not having renounced my own and what belongs to me?" she wrote.
In her post, the broadcaster described a daily scene for millions of Cubans.
She took advantage of a brief return of electricity to cook rice and recharge the portable fan, the solar lamp, and the emergency flashlight. Afterwards, she left the house with two goals: to get the medication she needs to control her blood pressure and to have a manicure.
He did not achieve either of the two things.
The medication was not available at the establishment where he planned to buy it, and the beauty salons he visited only accepted cash, a form of payment that is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain on the island.
"You go out to 'solve' your needs and interests, and you come back home, to put it in good Cuban terms, with your guard down," he recounted.
Upon returning to his apartment, the blackout had returned.
The most striking part of the text came when he recalled that during the Special Period he had the opportunity to leave Cuba, but he chose to stay.
"I returned to the 90s, a time when I could have left my country; I had all the possibilities, but I was strongly tied down by bonds that prohibited it: an almost obsessive love for my family, the passion and infatuation for the profession I have practiced since I was young, and my feelings for my homeland," he wrote.
More than three decades later, he acknowledges that he views that decision from a different perspective.
"Without a doubt, never like now… we live today as we would have never imagined and much less desired," he added.
A voice from the system that breaks the official narrative
The message takes on special significance due to Castro's position.
Radio 26 is part of the national system of state media, which upholds the official line of the Government and attributes the economic and energy crisis primarily to the U.S. embargo.
In that context, it is quite unusual for an individual connected to the official media to publicly express a level of frustration that leads them to wonder whether they should have emigrated when they had the chance.
His post also coincided with one of the most challenging weeks for the Cuban electrical system. On Friday, the country experienced its fourth national blackout of 2026, while Matanzas faced up to 87 consecutive hours without electricity in several municipalities.
The crisis also impacts access to medications. Official data indicates that only about 30% of the essential medications are available in Cuba, a shortage that daily affects patients with chronic illnesses such as hypertension.
Iris Castro's testimony thus adds to the growing expressions of discontent that are emerging even from spaces traditionally associated with the official discourse, at a time when the prolonged economic crisis, blackouts, and the lack of essential products continue to deteriorate the living conditions of the Cuban population.
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