State Security agents detained two mothers on Thursday morning at the police station on Zapata and C in Havana, just hours after protests took place in the El Fanguito neighborhood due to prolonged power outages. The report was made by rapper and activist Eliécer Márquez Duany (El Funky) through his social media.
One of the detainees was identified as María Yilian Franco Díaz, who, according to the report, was taken to the police station along with her four-year-old son, José Luis Navarro. El Funky released photographs of the woman with the child, as well as an image taken during the protest in which she appears among the demonstrators.
The arrests occurred less than 24 hours after residents of El Fanguito blocked Avenida 23, one of the main roads in Havana, to demand the restoration of basic services after being without electricity, water, and gas for more than 48 hours.
During the demonstration, dozens of residents, including several children, sat down on the roadway to block the passage of vehicles.
"Turn around, turn around, we've been without power for over 24 hours, and there are children here crying. Turn around, turn around," a neighbor told the motorcyclist who was trying to get past the blockade.
They restored the service and then the arrests followed
A few hours after the protest, a worker from the Electric Union restored the electricity service in the neighborhood, which prompted an immediate reaction from the residents.
"See? It wasn't that difficult. Brazen!" exclaimed a woman when the power came back.
However, the apparent response to the demands was followed by a repressive operation. The next morning, detentions of participants in the protest began.
El Funky also shared a video in which a supposed State Security agent can be heard warning residents that they will be identified if they share images of the protests on social media, even if these are posted from abroad.
"I am from Security. I know who uploaded the photo, even if it's sent to a relative abroad and the relative uploads it. I can trace it back, with whatever I have, the address and everything; I can find him and we'll see what he likes then," states the officer in the recording.
In the same audio, he claims that filming the agents does not constitute a crime, but he asserts that publishing those images does.
"You commit an offense when you publish me on social media without my authorization and without my consent," he says.
A recurring pattern
The case of El Fanguito reflects a pattern observed in other protests that occurred this year: after the demonstrations, the authorities temporarily restore some services to deactivate the mobilization, and subsequently, they detain or summon those who participated or shared images.
The protest occurs amid the worsening energy crisis in Cuba. This Thursday, the electricity generation deficit once again exceeded 2,000 MW, leaving a large part of the country without service and prompting new protests with pots and pans in Santiago de Cuba.
According to the Cuban Conflict Observatory, 107 protests were recorded on the Island during June, of which 82 took place in Havana. In April and May, the organization documented 1,133 and 1,311 demonstrations, respectively, in a context marked by power outages, shortages, and the deterioration of living conditions.
El Fanguito, located along the banks of the Almendares River in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality, is one of the most vulnerable settlements in the capital. According to a study by the magazine El Estornudo, for years the majority of its homes remained unregistered officially, with only one legalized by the State, reflecting the prolonged institutional neglect that its residents complain about.
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