New videos circulating on social media show makeshift dumps in various parts of Havana, with waste piling up in the streets and sewage waters, as residents report unbearable odors and a situation that continues to deteriorate.
One of the recordings, identified by users as being made on Monte Street in Centro Habana, shows garbage piled up on both sides of a corner.
"A harsh plague, tough, tough, tough. There's everything there; you can find all sorts of things in the trash," comments the person recording the images shared on Friday through the profile on Facebook Cuba today.
Days earlier, another video on the same page documented a similar situation in another part of the capital, where waste overflows into the traffic lane. The images add to other recent complaints about the proliferation of makeshift dump sites in various neighborhoods of Havana.
User comments expressed discontent over the city's decline. "NEVER, not even under the most dictatorial governments, has Havana, the Capital of All Cubans, been in this filthy decay," wrote one individual.
Another summed up the situation with a phrase that also received numerous reactions: "In every block a CDR, and now in every block a trash bin."
Several users linked the accumulation of waste to health problems. "Children's hospitals are filled with kids of all ages, seriously ill, suffering the consequences of total negligence on the part of the government," stated one commenter, who held the authorities accountable for the lack of solutions. "This is how all of Cuba is, and the government doesn't care," another user added.
The waste collection crisis also has a material component acknowledged by the authorities themselves. At the beginning of 2026, only 44 out of the 106 garbage trucks in Havana were operational, accounting for 41% of the fleet, due to a shortage of diesel and mechanical deterioration.
Official announcements have also failed to resolve the issue. In early September, the official press showcased 20 trucks and more than 240 containers from China, through an investment exceeding one million euros. However, the capital authorities acknowledged that these resources "are not the definitive solution."
Weeks before, it was reported about the failure of a pilot project using electric tricycles for trash collection in the Rampa Popular Council, due to the solar charging station being incomplete.
The history of other investments is not encouraging either. In 2019, Japan donated 100 garbage trucks to Havana, which later deteriorated due to maintenance and fuel issues.
The deterioration of sanitary conditions adds pressure to a very unfavorable epidemiological situation. Cuba closed 2025 with at least 81,909 cases of dengue and chikungunya and 65 deaths, while a report from The New York Times linked the outbreak to the accumulation of waste.
A few days ago, the U.S. Embassy in Havana issued health alerts due to a significant increase in diarrheal diseases.
In recent days, a large dump was reported at the intersection of Águila and Estrella in Centro Habana. This month, a fire originating from an improvised dump destroyed the side door of the Parish of San Judas Tadeo and San Nicolás de Bari in Los Sitios.
The Brother Ernesto Cuba, from the Escolapia community, attributed that last episode to the "abandonment by both the Government of Havana, mainly of Centro Habana, the Party, and the Communal services," bodies he accused of failing to fulfill their promises.
The succession of complaints and the persistence of landfills once again highlight the gap between official announcements and the reality of the streets in Havana.
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