Protests in Cuba during power outage.Image: keystone
People demonstrate in Havana over the energy crisis. Activist Yúnior García knows how dangerous this is – and why it’s worth the risk.
May 16, 2026, 11:11 amMay 16, 2026, 11:11 am
The situation in Cuba has been difficult for a long time, says Yúnior García Aguilar. “But now it has reached unbearable proportions.” There has been another severe power outage in Cuba in recent days.
The state electricity association said on Thursday (local time) that the collapse of the power grid had cut off power to all eastern provinces from Guantánamo to Ciego de Ávila. In Havana, where electricity is rationed, outages lasted 24 hours on Thursday.
“The regime lacks fuel, and at the same time the power plants are completely outdated. Food spoils, garbage piles up on the streets,” says García. He grew up in Cuba. The result of the waste, which cannot be taken away by the garbage disposal due to a lack of fuel, is a barely bearable stench. “That’s why people started setting fire to the mountains of rubbish in protest,” said the activist and actor.
Decapitated pigeons in front of the door
On Wednesday evening, journalists from the AP news agency observed residents of many neighborhoods making noise with pots and pans and setting garbage cans on fire to protest the power outages. Hours later, Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy appeared on Cuban television and described the situation as critical.
García knows from experience how dangerous it can be to oppose the regime. In 2021 he fled to Spain, where he has lived ever since. “When I wanted to organize peaceful protests, decapitated pigeons were placed on our doorstep, walls were smeared with blood and our apartment was surrounded,” he remembers. At the same time, his family was harassed.
His mother-in-law had to quit her job and he received numerous threatening calls. García says about the people who currently dare to take to the streets: “They risk everything; their jobs, their studies, prison sentences or even their lives.”
A humanitarian crisis
The fact that people still take to the streets shows how serious the situation is. The loss of Venezuela as the island nation’s most important supporter at the end of 2025 was probably the most drastic development. Cuba produces barely 40 percent of the fuel it needs to power its economy. For months now, Mexico and Russia have also stopped their oil deliveries to Cuba under pressure from the Americans.
“People are exhausted and angry,” says García, who is in daily contact with his son and other relatives and friends in Cuba. “The mood reminds me of the time before the big protests in July 2021,” he says. The anti-regime protests at the time were sometimes suppressed with massive threats of violence.
Relations between the United States and Cuba have been strained since the 1959 revolution. When Trump took office, the situation worsened again: in January 2025, he placed the island state ruled by the Communist Party back on a US terror list. For months, his government has been increasing pressure to force economic and political change in Cuba in the interests of the USA.
However, García believes there is no short-term solution. But: “The international community can no longer look the other way. Cuba is experiencing a humanitarian crisis.” (with material from dpa) (aargauerzeitung.ch)