A video shared on social media shows a massive security forces operation on Friday night in El Diezmero, an area in the San Miguel del Padrón municipality, in the east of Havana, amid reports of protests in various locations across the Cuban capital.
The images, published by the user Elio Rafael Sosa, reveal at least two patrol cars, a truck, and a van, along with several dozen uniformed officers deployed in the area in response to a group of residents who were protesting by shouting and blocking the roadway with branches and solid waste. The vehicles, parked in a row, displayed "Police" signs.
The citizen journalist Yainier Hidalgo Bajuelo confirmed the event on Facebook: "Reports indicate a police presence in El Diezmero, San Miguel del Padrón. Amid reports of protests in various locations in Havana, images shared on social media show a significant police deployment in El Diezmero."
The very title of the viral video encapsulates the feelings of those sharing it: "Military deployment in El Diezmero, the Americans didn't arrive, it's against a defenseless people."
The operation takes place on the eve of July 26, a key date in the Cuban regime's calendar. Far from celebrations, Havana is in turmoil: on Friday, women blocked 10 de Octubre Avenue due to water shortages and blackouts, while in Lawton, pots and extinguishers echoed as part of a nationwide pot-banging protest called for 9:00 p.m.
San Miguel del Padrón is one of the Havana municipalities with the highest history of conflict in 2026: in May, residents protested outside the municipal government shouting "Electricity and food!" In June, there was tire burning; and on July 22, a bonfire was reported in La Cumbre.
The trigger for the unrest is the power outages, which in some areas exceed 20 to 24 hours a day, also preventing the pumping of potable water.
The deployment in El Diezmero follows a pattern that the regime has repeated throughout July: on July 18, black berets from the Special National Brigade of MININT were deployed in El Vedado, and on July 12, police and paramilitary forces were concentrated in Old Havana during the protests marking the anniversary of 11J.
Cubalex recorded 319 repressive events and 253 demonstrations in June 2026 alone, while the Cuban Conflict Observatory counted 107 protests that month, nearly double the previous record.
The lawyer Laritza Diversent, director of Cubalex, was direct in evaluating the regime's strategy: «The militarization is not aimed at an external enemy but at the Cuban population itself».
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