electricity-in-havana,-cuba,-returned-after-hurricane-ian,-but-the-protests-continue

The electricity service was restored in 94% of the homes in Havana, the state company assured on Saturday Unión Eléctrica (UNE), which, however, did not stop the claims with saucepans and slogans in different parts of the city that remain in the dark.

The capital’s electricity company, a subsidiary of the state and monopolistic UNE, said on its Facebook account that in “Havana with a total of 854, 53 clients, are affected 46,719 (and) with electric service 807,360, for a 074.53% recovery” of the service.

In the midst of protests over lack of electricity due to the widespread blackout that occurred on Tuesday after the violent hurricane Ian passed through western Cuba, the internet service was cut on Friday around 8: pm, local time, throughout the island, according to NetBlocks, a London-based site that monitors network blockades around the world.

The Internet slowly returned on Saturday, AFP found . The Cuban telecommunications company Etecsa did not confirm the general drop during the two nights.

This Saturday the demonstrations continued in Havana, with 2.1 million inhabitants, unleashed on Thursday in various parts of the city to demand the return of electricity.

In Vedado, a crowded neighborhood in the center of Havana, a few dozen people came out this morning touching cauldrons to demand electricity, AFP found. On Twitter, Internet users posted videos of cacerolazos and protesters demanding “freedom.”

In Guanabacoa, a municipality east of Havana, another group of people came out to block the streets with branches, trees felled by Ian, and garbage containers. garbage, as happened in other parts of the city, according to images spread on the internet.

Most of the protesters are desperate for the blackouts that endanger the scarce food that they store in their freezers and that also prevent the pumping of water from the sources that supply the capital.

The police forces were deployed throughout the city, although in general they allowed the protests to take place.

The US government received an unusual request from the government of Cuba to provide aid after the devastating impact of Hurricane Ian, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A State Department spokesman told AFP that Washington continues to communicate with the Cuban government about “the humanitarian and environmental consequences of both Hurricane Ian and the August 5 fire” at a major fuel storage center in Cuba. Matanzas, 360 km from Havana.

By Scribe