The Cuban ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel toured the province of Mayabeque on Tuesday and inspected the water supply source known as “El Gato”, the main supply system for the east of Havana, in what the regime presented as part of the official monitoring of the water crisis affecting millions of Cubans.
The system has 17 wells and serves more than 27% of the capital's population, including the municipalities of Regla, Guanabacoa, San Miguel del Padrón, Habana del Este, Cotorro, and Diez de Octubre.
According to the website Presidencia y Gobierno de Cuba, alongside the leader were the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera; the First Deputy Prime Minister, Inés María Chapman Waugh; the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy; and the President of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, Antonio Rodríguez Rodríguez.
The investment program discussed during the visit involves eliminating leaks in wells and pipelines, completing pumping equipment, and ensuring the electrical stability of the facility. Díaz-Canel outlined a two-phase strategy: “The first stage involves trying to align the electrical assurance we can provide with electronic groups to prevent service interruptions in case of a blackout. At the same time, we are working on the sites to move to the final stage, which will involve renewable energy sources.”
The visit to "El Gato" marks Díaz-Canel's third water inspection in less than two weeks. On August 28, he oversaw the facilities at Paso Seco in Boyeros, and on September 3, he toured the Southern Basin System, where he publicly acknowledged that the regime cannot guarantee the 10 to 12 hours of electrical stability that the pumping systems need to operate normally.
The official plan includes generators for 29 supply sources in Havana as a short-term solution, while the crisis worsens: in July 2026, more than 500,000 residents in Havana suffered from irregular access to water, and nationwide the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources reported that 2.7 million Cubans were facing difficulties with supply, according to data collected by the organization and reported by the Los Angeles Times.
87% of Cuba's water supply system relies on the electrical grid, making each blackout a simultaneous interruption of the pumping process. In June 2026, the hydraulic system was operating with only 37% of the required fuel.
This Tuesday's itinerary was not limited to water. Díaz-Canel also visited the Sugar Agroindustrial Center "Boris Luis Santa Coloma" in Madruga, where he urged executives to combine the sugar harvest with local productions such as raw sugar and cane syrup. He then visited the farm "La Esperanza," where he praised the producer Lázaro Fundora—who manages over 30 hectares, more than 200 beehives, and solar panels—by stating, "This man is a wise one." The final stop was the "Cuban-Vietnamese Friendship" Business Unit in San José de Las Lajas, dedicated to the genetic improvement of poultry.
The pattern of tours has generated skepticism. A slide accidentally leaked by Canal Caribe on July 17 revealed that the internal goal of the tours included actions to "prevent a social outbreak," not just to address the structural issues facing the population.
Díaz-Canel promised the first visible results in the water supply by the end of September, with a consolidation expected in October.
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