Protests against power outages and the government blames the United States – News

Nearly one in three light bulbs remain off in Cuba due to ongoing power outages. This is a phenomenon that has been practically daily for weeks and often lasts up to 12 hours a day. This angered the residents, who gathered their courage and decided to take to the streets against the government, chanting “Light and food.” But Miguel Díaz-Canel's CEO pointed the finger at the United States, accusing it of encouraging street demonstrations. While the Cuban dissident warns: “Changes are needed, otherwise it will end in tragedy.”

“The United States supports the Cuban people in exercising their right to peaceful assembly,” Under Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols wrote on social media, sparking the dispute. In response, Havana summoned the US Chargé d'Affairs to Cuba, Benjamin Ziff, and informed him of the “categorical rejection of interference and defamatory messages” from the US government regarding Cuban internal affairs. Then US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel responded categorically: “The United States is not behind the protests in Cuba and this accusation is ridiculous.”

The Latin American country's ongoing energy crisis is mainly due to a shortage of fuel for power plants, according to the local Ministry of Energy and Mines. For its part, the state company Unión Eléctrica (Une) announced that the recent outages reached 31% of the territory and admitted that, facing a demand of 3,250 MW during peak hours, it could guarantee a maximum electricity generation capacity of 2,299 MW. . It is this deficit that explains the usual power outages in various governorates, as well as in the capital.

Cubans are experiencing the worst recession in 60 years, exacerbated by food shortages and systemic deficiencies in key public services, from health care to transportation and energy. A panoramic view should raise alarm bells, confirms the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH). According to the Europe-based dissident NGO, if a climate of uncertainty prevails, and people do not get concrete answers from the authorities, the Caribbean jewel may soon face unrest similar to the one that erupted in the mass protests on July 11, 2021.

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