Residents of the town of Cabañas, part of the municipality of Mariel in the province of Artemisa, took to the streets again in the early hours of this Wednesday to express their discontent, according to the platform NiO Reportando Un Crimen (Niover Licea) via Instagram.
If confirmed, it would be the second protest in less than four days in that same locality.
The first demonstration took place on the night of October 9 and was shared by the rapper and activist El Funky on his social media.
The frustration from the constant blackouts has reached its limit: food is spoiled, children cannot sleep, and families can no longer endure, the activist wrote while sharing images of the nighttime protest in a town square.
Regarding the second demonstration, NiO Reporting a Crime specified that the information comes from a testimony received from the area and that the news was still developing at the time of its publication. No other media had reported on this second episode yet, so at the time of writing this note, the information should be treated with caution.
According to that source, the residents went out "demanding better living conditions and what they consider their rights," and described Cabañas as "a traditionally quiet town" whose accumulated discontent has led to these protests. At the end of the report, there was no confirmed information about police interventions or arrests.
Both protests take place against the backdrop of a severe electricity crisis.
On October 9, the Electric Union forecasted a availability of just 1,250 MW against a demand of 2,900 MW, covering only 43% of the country's needs. By October 13, the deficit of the national electric system was 1,286 MW at six in the morning, with an availability of just 1,058 MW.
Artemisa has a recent history of protests related to power outages. In July, residents of El Henequén, also in the municipality of Mariel, took to the streets after more than four consecutive days without electricity.
In June, a protest in Toledo ended in tension with police officers, who left the scene following the crowd's reaction to the arrest of a young man.
The situation in the province shows no signs of improving in the short term. The Electric Company of Artemisa acknowledged in September that, even when fully utilizing its solar parks, the province would not be able to reduce the deficit to less than 18 hours of power outages per day.
On a national scale, Cubalex documented 766 protests in 141 municipalities during the first half of 2026, marking a 48% increase in human rights violations compared to the previous semester. In September, although protests decreased to 35, repressive events rose to 298, exceeding the 280 recorded in August.
NiO Reporting a Crime stated that it will continue to monitor for new information from Cabañas.
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