Reports multiply about “corruption in the Electric Company” to connect the powerful and leave others in the dark
14ymedio, Havana, November 24, 2025 — Hurricane Melissa left Mayarí hours after striking the east of Cuba, but the effects are still felt in the municipality of Holguín, where there have been three consecutive protests in small rural towns tired of living in the dark for almost a month. The last occurred this Sunday in Guairajal, where more than 20 people took to the streets with signs written on cardboard, demanding electricity after more than 25 days without service.
“Every day we talk to the delegate and the president of the People’s Council and nobody listens to us,” said one of the residents. Another explained that the community suffers a serious abandonment, and it has been decimated. “There were 200 or so houses here and there are 40 left,” she explained.
Women with babies in their arms and children holding balloons shouted “We want electricity,” a protest that could have been avoided, another neighbor said on social media. “We are tired of calling and complaining and not being heard. It shows a lack of respect for this small, poor and obedient town.
“In addition to not having electricity we have infinite problems; for example, not having water and being almost isolated, with the river running on the road and the bridge broken that connects us with Arroyo Enmedio. And nobody cares about that either. We feel totally abandoned by the authorities of the municipality,” she lamented only one day before the protest.
“There were 200 or so houses here and there are 40 left,” she explained
Although the government has praised the effort of the Electric Union linemen who came from different provinces in eastern Cuba to collaborate in repairs, the work has not been as exemplary as it appears, some complain.
“It’s been more than 20 days without electricity, and yesterday the linemen were up in Guayabo, where our transformer is located. They put on the power in one part and cut the cables that go to our neighborhood, on 21st street at the bottom, leaving out 11 houses. They did not want to continue because it was raining, there was mud, and they had to cross a bridge. So I ask you: Where are those hard-working linemen who are mentioned so much, leaving children, the elderly, the sick and working mothers without electricity? The residents themselves had to fix the fallen lines and keep the poles from falling down. The linemen only had to bring a ladder and connect the lines that go to the houses, but they didn’t do their work. It could have been done in less than half an hour, but it was easier to cut the lines and leave us without power. They reported that all the lines were on the ground and left,” said a resident of Mayarí, who continued with a warning: “We call the command post and they hang up the phone. So, what do we women and children have to do? We’ll throw ourselves into the street if they don’t connect us, like they did in Seboruco.”
The reference was to the protest that took place last Thursday in this community, where the neighbors went to the streets after 23 days without electricity or running water, an alarming situation amid the epidemic of arbovirosis affecting the island. “We called all sides; the mothers went to the Party (Communist Party of Cuba, the PCC), and there was no response from anywhere. We carried water from the rivers and were told every day that they would come, but it was a lie. Mothers with children went to the government, and we didn’t get a clear answer, so we could no longer stand it and threw ourselves into the street,” a resident, who asked for anonymity for fear of reprisals, told Martí Noticias.
There, before the dozens of people who demanded solutions, a PCC representative arrived and asked for understanding because the problem affected the entire locality. “Well this is all of Mayarí, not just Seboruco. If you want I will explain it to you; otherwise, I’ll shut up and keep walking,” he said. Empathy ended when he realized that he was being recorded: “You can’t record me because it’s against the law,” he said. Several hours later, according to various reports, electric service was restored to the community.
“We call the command post and they hang up the phone. So what do we women and children have to do? We will throw ourselves into the street if they do not give us electricity, like they did in Seboruco”
Pontezuela, another rural area of Mayarí, came out banging pots and pans on Friday night, in a type of protest more usual than the other two, which occurred in broad daylight with faces uncovered. There, the mayor and a political police officer stated that they did not yet know the extent of the damage or when services would be restored, and they asked for more patience from the population.
The last clear count of those without electricity in Holguín was on November 14, when there were still more than 52,000 residents without power. “We know that there are still areas waiting for attention. We have not forgotten anyone. We continue to try to reach every affected site, repair every malfunction and return every home to normal. Already this Tuesday 336,521 people in Holguín have been serviced, and we’re not stopping. Thank you for your patience, solidarity and trust,” added the provincial electricity company on day 19 in a Facebook post, where it showed the unsuccessful repair of the poles of Guairajal.
In the midst of this situation, the La Tijera Facebook page has reported rumors supported by countless commentators. In a post this Sunday, it described a dispute between local Electric Union administrators and residents of Manzanillo, in the province of Granma, who charged the workers with influence peddling and bribes.
“Neighbors complained that the power cuts were not due to the population but to an uncontrolled increase in private businesses, including illegal bakeries, welding workshops and refrigeration centers for sausages and meat, that were operating thanks to bribes paid to Electric Union officials, managers and linesmen,” said the post. It added that the inspection does not work and pointed to some specific businesses that paid to connect to circuits prioritized for leisure, among other irregularities.
A former worker of the electric company of Matanzas has confirmed to Martí Noticias that it is not only true, but the same thing happens throughout the island. “I saw the corruption in the Electric Company. It goes so high that you can offer any lineman money and get the service you need without having to go through the State channel,” said specialist Yanan Camaraza Medina.
“There are two transformers that feed the nearby neighborhood of the Cooperative, which has service 24 hours a day, because there are interests of millionaires based in the United States”
Living in Unión de Reyes, he said that the village of Juan Gualberto Gómez has been without service for weeks, but there are “two transformers that feed the nearby neighborhood of the Cooperative, which has service 24 hours a day, because there are interests of millionaires based in the United States who have their businesses, their investments here in Cuba, and, of course, they pay bribes.”
Camaraza Medina states that it has also been reported that the Provincial Freight Office accepts bribes in exchange for improving the conditions of the circuit and that there are more provinces where cases of this type have occurred, including Cienfuegos. In the municipality of Aguada there are four circuits that are exempt from the long blackouts, among them those that host facilities of the Party and the Government.
“If you pay they connect you to the protected area. That has happened in several houses here that have been reconnected in the neighborhood of the cooperative because they paid and are close by, and the linemen come and do the work stealthily and connect them,” the specialist told Martí Noticias. He describes several more cases of a situation that is not new, but that has become more desperate in these times of deep energy crisis.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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