Cuba: third night without electricity

While the island has been experiencing a general power outage since Friday, the Oriente (East) has been hit by tropical storm Oscar.

The situation with the electricity system remains “complex”, President Miguel Diaz-Canel admitted on Cuban television this Sunday evening.

Earlier in the day, the Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O Levy, declared that “between tomorrow Monday morning, afternoon or evening”, service will be restored for the majority of Cubans.

While the east of the island is also being hit by tropical storm Oscar, the Cuban president, speaking during the television news, warned that his government would not tolerate any disturbance of public order. Dressed in a military uniform, Miguel Diaz-Canel admitted that residents had gone out on Saturday evening to try to “cause disturbances to public order”. All perpetrators of unrest will be prosecuted “with the severity that revolutionary laws provide,” he said.

Sunday evening, according to Agence France-Presse, residents took to the streets in several neighborhoods of Havana to express their discontent. Dozens of people, including women with children in their arms, came out with pots and pans in the Santo Suarez neighborhood, shouting “Turn on the light”. Waste barricades were also erected in the Centro Habana neighborhood.

In these circumstances, the Cuban authorities have decided to close administrations and suspend classes until Wednesday, October 23 inclusive. Only vital services (hospitals, etc.) are maintained.

Photo: © Luc Monnet