In Cuba, frustration is escalating as the national electric grid crisis has plunged the country into darkness for over 48 hours. This dire situation led to residents in Havana taking to the streets on Saturday night, banging on pots and pans in protest across various neighborhoods of the capital.
Yoani Sánchez, a journalist and director of the independent outlet 14ymedio, reported on X, "Loud pot-banging in parts of Nuevo Vedado after nearly 36 hours without electricity." Similar reports have started to surface across social media platforms. The collapse of the national electric grid has also resulted in an Internet blackout, compounding the difficulty of sharing complaints and personal accounts of the Cuban people's distress.
The Cuban art critic Jorge Gómez de Mello shared on Facebook, "Pots are sounding in my neighborhood." Meanwhile, another user, Tania García, living in the capital, noted that in Old Havana, the sounds of pots and shouts were heard. In the Bahía neighborhood of East Havana, residents resorted to banging pots, honking horns, and using other tools to demand the return of electricity. Facebook user Mayara González Ballesté commented that "thanks to the pot-banging, the people of Bahía now have power."
On Saturday, Cuban journalist Mario J. Pentón stated on his social media that "protests are being reported in many areas of Havana at this hour, including pot-banging. It will be a long night for the people, but also for the dictators and their henchmen."