The independent Cuban journalist Yunia Figueredo Cruz published on Facebook a testimony that encapsulates in a few lines the brutality of the crisis Cuba is experiencing: at 9:00 PM she still had not been able to prepare the only meal of the day. She was cooking with poor-quality charcoal that goes out every moment, a rechargeable light bulb on the verge of running out, and barely three hours of electricity throughout the day.
"Nine at night, without being able to finish the only meal of the day, with a terrible charcoal that is a challenge to ignite and keeps going out constantly," Figueredo wrote from his home in the Jaimanitas neighborhood, Playa municipality, Havana.
"What a torment of a life. Lighting up with a rechargeable bulb that is about to turn off, only three hours of power in 24 hours. This is not life. They are slowly destroying us. Down with the dictatorship," he emphasized.
The image that accompanied the post says it all: an improvised metal stove, a blackened pot over embers, a large bag of charcoal in the foreground, and stone walls in the background, all in a dark and rudimentary space.
The situation described by Figueredo is not an exception. Cuba experienced at least eight total nationwide blackouts in 2026, the most recent occurring on September 18, when the collapse of the National Electric System left nearly nine million people without electricity for about 32 hours.
The electricity deficit has exceeded 2,000 MW on multiple occasions, with outages in some provinces lasting up to 87 consecutive hours. Faced with the inability to cook with electricity or liquefied gas—which is also in short supply—thousands of families have returned to using charcoal, firewood, and makeshift stoves.
Jaimanitas, the neighborhood where Figueredo lives and works alongside her husband, fellow journalist Frank Correa, has become one of the most active protest hubs in Havana. On July 6, residents took to the streets after more than 24 hours without electricity.
On August 24, the Fifth Avenue was blocked due to a prolonged power outage and lack of water, and on the 29th, Figueredo reported a militarization of the neighborhood with black berets and dark vehicles amid fears of new protests.
But the energy crisis is not the only challenge faced by this journalist. The Cuban Observatory for Freedom of Expression of the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP) documented 22 repressive episodes against Figueredo and Correa between April 2025 and early September 2026, including surveillance, arbitrary detentions, interrogations, threats, and confiscations.
In March, she was detained in Jaimanitas for participating in a pot-banging protest against power outages, in front of her minor daughters. In July, she and Correa were arrested without a court order while heading to a reception at the United States Embassy and remained uncommunicated for more than 16 hours.
The repression extended even to his daughter. On September 4, state security agents went to the University of Havana to inquire about Beily Mariam Correa's enrollment in the Faculty of Foreign Languages.
On that same day, a police sector chief imposed a precautionary measure on Figueredo, requiring her to report to the station to sign in on the 10th of each month, and warned her to maintain "zero contact with the American embassy" and to "think about her daughters."
The legal framework supporting this persecution was strengthened by the Decree 160/2026, which prohibits non-state actors from practicing journalism or operating news agencies in Cuba, effective from August 4th.
The ICLEP made an urgent appeal to the international community after documenting the systematic harassment of independent journalists like Figueredo: "International visibility can be an essential form of protection."
Related videos:
Filed under: