The Cuban performer Riuber Alarcón, artistically known as "Doña Margot," reported that he was physically assaulted on Sunday in the Havana municipality of La Lisa as a direct reprisal for posting a complaint about power outages in the area on social media.
In a video shared on his Facebook profile, Alarcón appears with a bloodied mouth, bruises around his eyes, and scratches on his forehead as he recounts what happened: "Claudia Ávila, the mayor of La Lisa, sent someone to hit me because I posted something complaining about the electricity situation in La Lisa. That's what the people from the government of La Lisa do."
Alarcón identified Claudia Ávila, president of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power of La Lisa, as the one responsible for ordering the aggression.
The complaint takes on a particular dimension due to the profile of the affected individual: Riuber Alarcón is a transgender performer with a public career and documented ties to CENESEX and Mariela Castro Espín, daughter of Raúl Castro and director of this state agency dedicated to policies on sexual diversity.
Alarcón participated in official events sponsored by the Cuban state, including the International Day Against Homophobia organized by CENESEX, and has hosted drag shows since at least 2007.
That a figure historically aligned with the official narrative is allegedly attacked for denouncing the lack of electricity illustrates just how far repression does not distinguish between allies and critics when it comes to highlighting the collapse of basic services.
La Lisa has been one of the epicenters of citizen discontent due to the energy crisis in 2026. On July 2, residents protested in front of the municipal PCC headquarters after enduring more than 50 consecutive hours without electricity, facing repression with the deployment of "black berets," arbitrary arrests, and internet outages.
In June, the municipality had already witnessed another protest after 36 hours of blackout, and days before July 2, residents threw stones at the police unit in San Agustín over the same issues.
Cuba is experiencing its worst energy crisis in decades: the generation deficit reached 2,208 MW on June 25, leaving 70% of the country without electricity.
In June alone, 107 protests were recorded on the island, with Havana leading the way, and the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights documented 1,949 repressive actions and 257 arbitrary detentions in the first half of 2026.
Alarcón's video surpassed 207,000 views on Facebook and generated over 530 comments.
The journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, who publicized the complaint and called for an independent investigation, was emphatic: "Political or ideological differences can never justify violence. Human rights must be defended without distinction. Violence cannot become a response to differences in thought or a tool of intimidation."
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