Miguel Díaz-Canel published on Wednesday on his X account a congratulatory message to Vladímir Putin for his 74th birthday, accompanied by a photograph from one of his meetings with the Russian leader, while millions of Cubans endure power outages of over 20 hours daily and a severe water crisis.
The gesture was immediately amplified by media outlets aligned with the Kremlin, such as Russian Channel 5 (5-tv.ru), which reproduced the text translated into Russian.
The Cuban leader wrote: "We extend cordial congratulations to President Vladimir Putin on his 74th birthday. We wish him health and success in his responsibilities as the head of the Federation of Russia."
Reactions from Cubans on social media to last year's message foreshadow the tone of this year's: "Communists congratulating a right-wing dictator in Russia. How pathetic," wrote one user. Another was more direct: "You and he should already be dead for being terrorist dictators." A third summed up the relationship between the two leaders: "Stop whining. Putin already told you he's not going to give you even the candles for the cake. Get to work, Salivita Canel."
The contrast between the message and the reality of the Island could not be sharper. On that same day, the Electric Union reported a availability of only 1,210 MW against a projected demand of 3,000 MW, with an estimated deficit of 1,790 MW and an impact of 1,820 MW during peak hours.
Cuba has experienced eight national collapses of the National Electric System so far in 2026.
The electricity crisis exacerbates the water emergency, although it is not the only cause: the regime itself admitted that 2.7 million Cubans lack regular access to running water, a figure that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) raises to 3.5 million.
The congratulations to Putin have become a tradition for the Cuban leader. In 2025, for the Russian leader's 73rd birthday, Díaz-Canel wished him to continue "successfully leading that brother country", a message that triggered a wave of criticism on Cuban social media. In May of this year, on the occasion of Victory Day, he sent a "warm and grateful hug", echoing the Kremlin's narrative regarding Ukraine.
The diplomatic deference of the regime towards Moscow contrasts with the meager energy aid received. The only Russian tanker to arrive in Cuba throughout 2026 was the Anatoli Kolodkin, which docked in Matanzas on March 31 with approximately 730,000 barrels of crude — enough for between seven and 15 days of national consumption. Díaz-Canel himself admitted in May that this oil "was running out these days" without knowing when a new shipment would arrive.
While the regime lavishes praise on Moscow, Ukrainian military intelligence estimates that more than 20,000 Cubans have been recruited to fight under the Russian flag since 2023, with at least 93 identified by name as killed by January 2026.
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