Cuban activist Adelth Bonne Gamboa took to social media on Sunday, voicing his distress after enduring over 52 hours without electricity due to the collapse of the National Electric System. "52 hours of blackout and still no power, all my food is spoiled, my nerves are shot," wrote Bonne on Facebook, echoing the frustration of thousands of Cubans who remain in the dark following last Friday's energy system failure.
Bonne highlighted his deep concern over the losses incurred during the extended outage: "I'm just thinking about how my battery is dying, my nerves are fraying, and most importantly, I don't know how I'll recover all my losses," he stressed, emphasizing the current challenge of keeping even a minimal stock of refrigerated food due to the soaring prices caused by inflation.
The young man also mentioned that every hour a patrol car parks in front of his home, blaring its siren: "My neighbors rush to warn me, they've been vigilant, but I hear them from inside my house," he shared. Bonne has frequently been a target of harassment by the Cuban political police.
In a subsequent post, Bonne revealed his refrigerator standing wide open, expressing his frustration over the lack of electricity: "At this point, they might as well not even bother restoring power; there's nothing left to save. A big hug to all Cubans in the same situation. Stay strong!"
Ongoing Power Restoration Efforts
While the regime announced a gradual restoration of service in Havana, by midday Sunday, only about thirty circuits were operational, primarily in the municipalities of Guanabacoa, Boyeros, San Miguel del Padrón, and Cotorro, according to a Facebook update from the Havana Electric Company.
Adding to the country's dire situation is the looming threat of Hurricane Oscar approaching the eastern region and the ongoing efforts to repair the completely collapsed national electric system since last Friday. In response, the Cuban government announced on Sunday the suspension of all non-essential administrative activities and educational operations for the next three days.