Cleivi Pujada Castro died while repairing a circuit of the Playa Baracoa substation, in Bauta
14ymedio,Havana, September 22, 2025 — Lineman Cleivi Pujada Castro lost his life last Friday while performing repair work on a circuit of the substation Playa Baracoa, in Bauta, Artemisa Province. The Electric Union of Cuba (UNE) worker died after coming into contact with a high-voltage line, according to a report from a colleague.
“Yesterday there was a fatal accident in which my colleague and brother Cleivi Pujada Castro lost his life. I am surprised, because he was always very strict about security measures,” colleague Alden Daniel García posted on Facebook. According to his account, Pujada Castro made contact with a 7,800-volt line, which caused his death.
News of his death revived complaints about the precarious conditions in which employees work in the electricity sector, subject to shortages that, combined with the deterioration of the network, increase the risk of accidents.
This is not an isolated case. Earlier this month, lineman Osmani Hernández Madroza, 35, suffered severe burns while repairing a breakdown in San Miguel del Padrón, Havana. The specialist in electricity protection made contact with a broken driver, which left him with serious injuries in both arms.
This event added to a chain of incidents which show no signs of abating
This event added to a chain of incidents which show no signs of abating. Also, this same month saw the death of Carlos Rafael López Ibarra, a turbine operator at the Antonio Maceo (Renté) thermoelectric plant in Santiago de Cuba. The 33-year-old man could not survive the severe burns suffered a week earlier during the repair of a steam pipe in unit 5 of the plant. An escape of steam caused the burns, which, according to unofficial sources, affected 89% of his body. “With deep pain we communicate the irreparable loss of our comrade… We convey our deepest condolences on behalf of the Directorate of the Electric Union and all its workers,” said the state company.
Similar cases have marked recent years. In March 2024, Leonel Carroso Machín, a lineman of the Havana Electric Company, died after falling from a pole in Boyeros. Although he was taken to a hospital for surgery, he did not survive.
That same year, in October, a fire on the Turkish Belgin Sultan power barge, anchored in Havana Bay, left eight people injured: three Cubans and five Turkish employees of Karpowership. Days later, foreign workers Halil Karadeniz and Fuat Türkyilmaz died in the Hermanos Ameijeiras hospital from their injuries.
Every accident that comes to public attention intensifies criticism of the UNE for the hazardous conditions in which its employees work, with insufficient or no protective gear. One year ago, the company itself shared images of workers removing ashes inside a boiler without gloves, masks or glasses, which reinforced the perception that the high accident rate is not accidental.
Las estadísticas oficiales confirman la gravedad de la situación de inseguridad en los entornos laborales: en 2024, 52 cubanos murieron en su centro de trabajo, es decir, uno por semana. Aunque la cifra total de accidentes disminuyó de 1.498 en 2023 a 934 en 2024, el índice de fallecidos por cada mil lesionados se disparó de 33,7 en 2023 a 53,3 en 2024, un aumento cercano al 60%.
Official statistics confirm the seriousness of the situation of insecurity in working environments: in 2024, 52 Cubans died at their workplace; that is, one per week. Although the total number of accidents decreased from 1,498 in 2023 to 934 in 2024, the death rate per thousand injured jumped from 33.7 in 2023 to 53.3 in 2024, an increase of nearly 60 percent.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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