A video published this Saturday by independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada shows a huge trash heap accumulated on Avenida Finlay, in front of a 12-story building in Reparto José Martí, one of the main arteries of Camagüey.
The complaint, shared on X under the hashtag #TanteandoCuba, adds to a long string of similar reports that document the collapse of waste collection services in the city throughout 2026.
The crisis is neither new nor isolated. According to estimates cited in October, the municipal company for Community Services only collects between 35% and 40% of the waste generated by the city, which amounts to approximately 220 tons daily; between 77 and 143 tons remain uncollected each day.
Local authorities have attributed the problem to a "sharp fuel shortage" and the deterioration of the state vehicle fleet, without providing any concrete short-term solutions.
Throughout the year, Camagüey has reported garbage dumps in multiple locations around the city: on Camujiro Street, where a resident reported that there had been no collection for two months and the waste occupied the entire road; on General Gómez Street, where neighbors noted up to nine dumps, even next to a children's daycare.
One of the most serious incidents occurred in the early morning of July 17, when a garbage dump on Las Palmas Street caught fire, causing explosions and thick smoke that forced families to seek shelter in nearby homes. Authorities classified the event as "social indiscipline."
The deterioration also affected the city's historic center, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where significant accumulations of waste were reported throughout the year.
As a partial response, the private mipyme Almaley S.R.L. began in September the process to manage waste collection in the Historical Center, preparing three collection trucks and installing bins. However, the proposal did not fully materialize due to equipment deterioration and disagreements over rates.
The accumulation of garbage was also reported to be linked to an increase in cases of hepatitis A in the municipality during April, although the Deputy Minister of Public Health, Julio Guerra, denied that a national epidemic existed.
Tan Estrada, the author of the video, is an independent journalist from Camagüey who has been exiled in Mexico since late 2024, after facing detention by State Security, fines under Decree-Law 370, and pressure from the regime. His series #TanteandoCuba systematically documents the deterioration of public services in the province, turning each complaint into a record of the crisis that the Cuban state cannot—or does not want to—resolve.
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