Just a few steps away from the headquarters of the Cuban regime at the Plaza de la Revolución, three homeless Cubans are surviving in a wooded area, relying on the collection and sale of recyclable materials to make ends meet. Luis Leiva Marín, Juan Carlo, and another man shared with Cubanet that they have been living in this location for at least a year and have formed a close-knit family.
They protect their belongings under banana leaves and have created a makeshift area where they cook, wash their clothes, and store the primary materials—cans and plastics—that they collect daily to sell, as they told the news portal. "I sell plastics, raw materials, I look for my little can, my plastic, and sell it," explained Luis Leiva Marín, recounting how he ended up on the streets following a divorce in Florencia, Morón.
Initially, there were four of them, but one was incarcerated due to an unresolved legal issue in Bayamo, leaving the remaining three to face the harsh reality of street life on their own. "We are united, we are brothers in life. We are not going to let ourselves die; one peels some things, the bread, one peels a vegetable, we make coffee," they expressed.
Another man, aged 57, emphasized that as long as he has strength, he will continue to fight to earn a living. "I strive to make 20 pesos because I don't want to beg," he remarked. Meanwhile, Juan Carlo narrated his journey from Santiago de Cuba to Havana. "Things are worse in Santiago; it's better here. This little forest is now our home," he said resignedly.
Rising Homelessness in Cuba Amid Economic Failures
Homelessness has surged in Cuba since 2021 due to the implementation of disastrous economic policies that have driven the majority of the population into extreme poverty and forced the youth into migration routes. The situation reflects the broader socioeconomic crisis gripping the island nation under its current government.