Amid blackouts lasting up to 13 hours, informal gasoline prices in Havana have risen to 750 pesos per liter. Pot-banging protests echo in several neighborhoods, while a tanker ship bound for Cuba redirects to the Dominican Republic. Fuel shortages exacerbate the island's energy crisis.
Havana endured a grim Thursday plagued by prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. In neighborhoods like Marianao and La Güinera, power cuts exceeded nine hours, reaching 13 in some instances, residents reported. In La Lisa, pot-banging protests rang out until electricity returned minutes later, as journalist Mario Pentón confirmed via video call.
Diana, a veterinary student, went without food all day due to no gas at home, where she lives with her elderly grandparents. 'I don't have the strength to hear the clanging or bang a pan myself, but I feel it,' she told 14ymedio. Irma, a Facebook ad promoter, detailed her chaotic routine: 'Power goes out and the connection vanishes; I go to the balcony for signal, hang clothes at night.' Her seamstress sister gets just one hour of electricity daily, forcing nighttime work.
A Guanabacoa resident noted many skip meals and baths to cope. 'Yesterday the pots banged loudly; we'll see what happens with the heat and sleep deprivation,' he added. On streets, neighbors cook by candlelight or cigarette glow, some with humor: a young woman sang 'I have no power, no soap, no money' to a Juan Gabriel tune.
Fuel scarcity shows at stations: since January 10, no list of the 24 eastern Havana stations open, possibly all closed. In the west, only five of 14 operated Thursday. On the informal market, gasoline fetches 700-750 pesos per liter in Havana, 1,200 in Holguín, and 370-380 for kerosene in Sancti Spíritus. Monthly pensions top out under 4,000 pesos (8 USD), average salary around 6,000 (12 USD).
The tanker Mia Grace, carrying 314,500 barrels of diesel from Togo, altered course. It now heads to Río Haina, Dominican Republic, from Takoradi, Ghana, per geolocation data. Expert Jorge Piñón spotted it as a potential cash sale via European intermediary. Thermoelectric plants face constant breakdowns: units in Mariel, Nuevitas, and Felton offline, with 466 MW unavailable, and state firm UNE stopped reporting fuel-related deficits.
