The water tanker truck, arrived without a hose, and a high-ranking officer demanded that residents carry their own buckets.
14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, August 19, 2026 – “You need it, you carry it.” The response from a high-ranking officer to Regla residents protesting this Wednesday over the lack of water only heightened the tension on Maceo Street, between Fresneda and Perdomo. After complaining at the police station, several women managed to get a water tanker truck to appear, but it arrived without a hose, and the solution offered was for each family to transport the water to their homes in buckets.
The protest began shortly beforehand, according to 14ymedio’s observation at the scene. A group of women were outside the police station, visibly upset, demanding a response to the lack of water supply. Later, on their way back toward the neighborhood, one of them shouted to the residents that they should all come out into the street, because the problem did not affect only those who had gone to protest.
“She was saying that we all had to come out, because everyone was lacking water, not just them,” says Frank, a local resident. He has heard the same thing in different parts of the municipality. “People are complaining because we didn’t even have a drop of water left.”
About 15 minutes later, a water tanker truck arrived, and a group of police officers had been deployed, including high-ranking officers, some of them with the rank of colonel. On the sidewalks, numerous residents, including women and children, watched the argument.
The arrival of the tanker truck, however, did not end the conflict. The vehicle did not have a hose to deliver the water directly to the homes, and the driver expected the residents themselves to come over to fill their own containers and carry them.
The exchange between the residents, the driver and the officers became increasingly heated. “You need it, you carry it,” one of the high-ranking officers snapped. The remark particularly angered those who pointed out that many elderly people and people unable to carry several buckets of water from the street to their homes live in the neighborhood.
The method also does not guarantee a sufficient amount for a family’s needs. The residents explained that, when the situation was less critical, one water truck could supply two or three homes and fill household water tanks. Now, with many more homes depending on the trucks, each household ends up receiving barely three or four buckets.
“That doesn’t solve anything,” another resident lamented. Much less, he added, for those who must reserve water for drinking, cooking, bathing and maintaining minimum hygiene conditions for several days.
The supply crisis in the municipality is not new. On August 13, Aguas de La Habana acknowledged disruptions in the lower part of Regla and Casablanca linked to the El Gato System, one of the main sources supplying the capital. That day, the state-run company also reported electrical problems that had left several pieces of equipment in the system out of service.
The interruptions have turned access to water into a recurring source of discontent in Regla. In June, residents of the municipality blocked a street after going more than 24 hours without electricity or water. Police quickly arrived in the area, and the tension eased only after electrical service returned.
A month later, on July 8, dozens of people mobilized again and took their complaints to the municipal Government and Communist Party offices after several days without either service. Women with children, elderly people and other residents gathered under the sun while police and officials tried to contain the discontent.
Wednesday’s scene once again showed something that is repeated in different parts of the Island. Women are often the first to come out to protest; then the uniformed officers arrive and, only then, some emergency solution appears. This time, the tanker truck temporarily eased the lack of water in a Regla neighborhood, but it was far from resolving it. As long as water supplies continue to depend on improvised responses, the next complaint seems to be only a matter of time.
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Translated by Regina Anavy
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