Dressed in an olive green military uniform, Miguel Díaz-Canel led the National Defense Day this Friday at the Casablanca Defense Council, in the Havana municipality of Regla, and posted a video on his Facebook account where he stated that "preparation for defense continues to be a matter of great priority for Cuba."
It was the eleventh such day that the leader personally presided over this year, according to the Cuban Presidency, as part of the so-called "Year of Preparation for Defense 2026," which has mandated almost weekly military drills since January under the doctrine of "Warfare of the Entire People."
The publication immediately triggered a wave of critical and mocking comments highlighting the same contradiction: while the Cuban population endures power outages of up to 20 hours a day, the regime mobilizes electricity, fuel, and air conditioning for its military events.
"Gaby Mesa wrote in Diaz-Canel's own post, in the comment that resonated most among followers, 'For this, there is electricity! With those fabrics and not a drop of sweat! Air conditioning, fuel to move people, anyway!'"
Another user, Ariel Morales, was more straightforward: "He goes out to tour the neighborhoods and visits the electricity service office, which is basically a mafia. You call to complain, and they treat you like a dog. I know you won't see this because you have someone managing your social media."
Irony also extended to the armament. The user identified as Tom Sawyer remarked: "They were surely counting the slingshots that were assigned to each person." And the one identified as Chuly Blokeada added: "I don't plan to get into any hole, but if by chance I have to take refuge in one, dear God, please don’t let me be with the leaders, because they take up all the space with their bellies."
The backdrop fueling this outrage is an unprecedented energy crisis. On the very Friday of the event in Regla, the National Electric System had barely 1,000 MW of available generation against a demand of 3,250 MW, with a projected deficit of 2,190 MW, according to data from the Electric Union.
The situation is neither new nor isolated. The country began September with outages that simultaneously affected up to 70% of the island. On September 1, eleven of the sixteen thermoelectric units in the country were out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance, and the actual maximum impact reached 2,292 MW.
Cuba has experienced at least six total collapses of the electrical system during 2026, with blackouts lasting more than two consecutive days in some provinces. The collapse on July 6 left approximately 9.6 million people without electricity.
This pattern of citizen reactions to military exercises has repeated itself throughout the year. Since January, when the Western Army was the subject of mockery for its outdated equipment, up until the maneuvers in June and August, every official publication regarding defensive preparation has received comments that highlight the contrast between resource spending and the scarcity faced by the population.
The Electric Union anticipated that between September and December, maintenance and breakdowns at various thermoelectric plants would further exacerbate the outages in the remaining months of the year.
Filed under: