Residents of the Calabazar neighborhood, in the Havana municipality of Boyeros, staged a protest on Thursday night after discovering that employees of the state electrical system were illegally selling the electricity meant for the residents, according to reports shared on social media.
The public complaint was made by a resident identified as Isol G, who reported that in Calabazar they had been receiving electricity for only a short time each day for months, while other circuits and private businesses enjoyed a continuous supply.
"The linemen who operate the power truck were negotiating and selling the electricity that was assigned to us, prioritizing other circuits and small and medium-sized enterprises, which had power 24 hours a day," the complainant wrote on Facebook.
According to their account, the neighbors caught the workers in the act: the service vehicle was loaded with boxes of beer, the workers were carrying wads of cash, and they were in a state of intoxication.
"The people took justice into their own hands, and they clearly caught them red-handed, enjoying and profiting at the expense of the suffering of a community," denounced Isol G, who confirmed that the linemen were arrested.
Meanwhile, other residents of the Boyeros municipality gathered in front of the municipal government headquarters to demand answers to the prolonged blackouts, in a mobilization captured on video that shows the presence of security forces and a state truck at the scene.
The complainant also pointed out a similar case in the Mantilla neighborhood, where workers from the electrical system allegedly offered to restore the service in exchange for 200 dollars: "They insinuated that the town was in darkness because it wanted to be. Because with 200 USD they would restore the power."
Isol G acknowledged that the energy crisis has structural causes, but emphasized that corruption exacerbates it: "It is true that there are prolonged blackouts due to fuel shortages, but it is also true that some workers in the OBE and UNE have turned this into a whole business."
The complaint included a personal plea: "I demand justice for the nights my newborn baby has spent without sleeping, suffering from immense power outages and mosquito bites that only harm her."
The events are not isolated. In Mariel, three linemen from the UNE were accused of diverting more than 21 million pesos through the theft and illegal commercialization of resources.
In June 2025, seven employees of the Electric Company of Havana and 14 clients were convicted for manipulating electricity consumption.
In June 2026, illegal electrical connections were detected in prioritized circuits in Guantánamo.
Boyeros has a history of protests due to the energy crisis. In November 2024, Cubans blocked Avenida Boyeros after a week without electricity or water and the police suppressed the protest. In September 2025, residents of Calabazar took to the streets with pot banging.
In May 2026, protests spread due to power outages lasting up to 22 hours a day in the Mulgoba area.
This Friday, Cuba faces an electrical deficit of nearly 2,260 MW during peak hours, with only 940 MW available against a demand of 3,100 MW, marking the worst energy crisis the country has seen in decades. In June, 107 protests were documented across the island, 82 of which took place in Havana, setting a historic record.
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