The Cuban regime mobilized militants and members of the Rapid Response Detachments at the headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) in the Playa municipality on Thursday, anticipating disturbances as cacerolazos echoed in El Vedado after more than 30 consecutive hours without electricity.
The activist and writer Yania Suárez documented the scene on Facebook after walking through the neighborhood that night.
"Yesterday, Thursday, July 16th, I walked through Vedado at night. Everything was dark. The sound of metal echoed everywhere. I also saw some figures crouching on Línea Street, as if waiting for a couple of Black Beret patrols," he wrote.
As he passed in front of the PCC headquarters in Playa, Suárez noticed an unusual gathering of people. He later learned the reason: "They had mobilized members and leaders of Rapid Response Brigades because they expected something to happen. I haven't verified if that something occurred... It might be in the future, and they know it."
Alongside that paramilitary mobilization, Suárez also observed posts of "black berets" — operatives from the National Special Brigade of MININT — stationed on Línea Street, monitoring the sounds of the night.
The commentator Boris González Arenas confirmed the pattern based on his own observation: "At the party headquarters in Playa, every afternoon a group of individuals gathers, filling the parking lot with modern company cars. At first, I was intrigued until I realized they are a 'determined people' ready for confrontation."
What makes this episode particularly significant is the neighborhood where it took place. Suárez emphasized that it was "the first time" that the banging of pots and pans was heard in El Vedado, an area historically associated with the political elite of the regime.
"We have been without electricity for several days (it comes for 1 or 2 hours) and now there is also a lack of water in Miramar. For the first time, the sound of metal was heard in this neighborhood of the wealthy and children of officials," he wrote.
El Vedado, with its proximity to the Palace of the Revolution and the Central Committee of the PCC, transforms every demonstration there into a politically charged challenge of great symbolism. The neighborhood had already witnessed pot-banging protests in broad daylight on July 12, just four days earlier.
The preventive mobilization of the regime occurs within a context of escalating repression. On July 13, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States sanctioned the Rapid Response Brigades along with nine other Cuban state organizations and companies, in the sixth round of measures under Executive Order 14404 signed by President Donald Trump.
The energy crisis fueling the protests shows no signs of easing. The national electricity deficit reached a record of 2,208 MW on June 25, 2026, affecting approximately 69% of the country.
In June, 107 street protests were documented in Cuba, nearly double the previous high, with Havana being the most active province, and the regime responded with 135 repressive actions.
Suárez concluded his testimony with a phrase that captures the mood of those resisting from within: "I hope this ordeal serves a purpose. May the night not be eternal!"
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