Agents of the Cuban regime violently suppressed residents of the neighborhood Fontanar in the Boyeros municipality, who took to the streets on Friday night to protest against the prolonged blackouts affecting the area, as reported by journalist José Raúl Gallego, who shared videos of the events in real time.
The protest erupted around 9:30 PM on Boyeros Avenue, at the entrance of the neighborhood, and was documented by Gallego with the phrase: "Happening now. Protest on Boyeros Avenue, at the entrance of Fontanar. Havana."
The protesters blocked the traffic lights on the avenue, prevented vehicles from passing, and overturned trash containers before the repression began.
Minutes later, the journalist reported that the police had arrived at the scene with around 10 patrols. At least two people were arrested —a woman and a young man— according to Gallego himself.
A neighbor from the neighborhood described to Martí Noticias the police operation that was deployed: «Patrols, Black Berets, and Red Berets», identifying the presence of the Special Brigade of MININT and the Prevention Troops.
The woman recounted that people came out "with pots," turned over the trash containers, and stood at the traffic light on the avenue to block traffic.
It's too much, they are barely providing us with electricity, there was no water, and that's devastating for a day, without water, without light, said the neighbor in the audio shared by the media.
The accumulated desperation was summed up in another of his phrases: "Quitaypón, quitaypón, quitaypón, there's no time left to even make the rice."
The electric circuit A940, which supplies Fontanar, had been experiencing disruptions due to a generation deficit since September 1st. Following the protest, electricity was tactically restored at 2 a.m. on Saturday, only to be cut off again hours later.
This episode is part of a series of demonstrations that have shaken Havana in recent days.
Residents of Vedado closed Avenida 26 after more than forty hours without electricity; an operation involving eight patrol cars and over thirty agents surrounded the neighborhood of El Fanguito during a pot-banging protest; and mothers blocked a street in Arroyo Naranjo with their children in their arms.
The electrical crisis fueling the discontent is structural. On Friday, the availability of the National Electric System was only 1,000 MW against a demand of 3,250 MW, resulting in a deficit of 2,190 MW. The National Electric System has completely collapsed seven times so far in 2026.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,415 protests and critical expressions in July 2026, marking the highest monthly total in history, with 72 in-person demonstrations, 64 of which took place in Havana. In August, the figure was 1,185 similar actions.
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