Havana Faces Days Without Electricity, Water, or Communication

While Cuban media actively reported over three days on the Cuban delegation’s latest victory at the United Nations vote to lift the US-imposed commercial, economic, and financial embargo on Cuba, residents of Havana are occupied with more urgent issues: living without electricity, which has completely disappeared in recent days, without water, which is not reaching homes due to non-operational pumps lacking power, and with practically no communication services.

On July 8, Cuban authorities announced the restart of the national electricity grid following a total blackout on July 6 and a power outage that began on July 3 caused by an incident at the Victoria de Girón substation in the capital. However, the situation on the ground has not improved. In Havana, electricity is supplied to homes for only one or two hours at a time, every day or every other day. Solar panels, a common but expensive solution, do not alleviate the hardship for many residents because they cannot recharge quickly enough due to the current cloudy weather in Havana.

Garbage has again accumulated in Havana’s streets as garbage collection trucks have stopped operating due to fuel shortages.

Many Havana residents have experienced communication outages for several days, with their messages not being delivered. Numerous medical facilities have closed because of power outages, doctors facing household problems, and transportation difficulties preventing them from reaching their workplaces.

Estimates based on official Cuban data indicate that losses caused by the US embargo have exceeded $154 billion, with losses last year alone amounting to approximately $4.8 billion. Cuba is confronting severe shortages of fuel, medicine, and food, along with frequent electricity outages. The government describes this as a "suffocating blockade policy" aimed at forcing Havana to change its policies.

The administration of the US president has tightened sanctions on Cuba, accusing it of supporting undemocratic regimes and claiming Havana threatens US national security. Meanwhile, Havana has affirmed it will not relinquish its revolutionary principles regardless of the pressure it faces.