Blackouts, Police and the Streets Heating Up in CubaThere is fuel for police patrol cars, but not to provide electricity to families. Between May 11 and 16, 2026, various citizen reports showed a heavy deployment of police vehicles in the streets of Havana.
This Is How Internet Is Being Rationed in CubaNeither the landline nor mobile data works. Xiomara remains cut off from communication for much of the day. “We don’t have transportation to go see our relatives, and now we can’t even find out how they are,” she complained from Villa Clara. Her experience is similar to that of millions of Cubans suffering a double blackout.
The Cuban Gov. Without Maduro: Nervousness and RepressionA sign of the Union of Young Communists burned in full view on Cuba’s Central Highway. The video of the intentional arson quickly went viral on social media. The images, recorded in Güira de Melena, join a series of symbolic acts rejecting state propaganda in a context of deep crisis.
Young Cubans Willing to Fight and “Bleed” for Money“Do you have the guts to bleed?” That’s the slogan used to promote a clandestine fighting league in Cuba that offers up to 20 euros per match. Amid the country’s deepening economic and social crisis, dozens of young people between 19 and 31 years old agree to fight without an audience, hoping to earn in one night what many don’t make in a month of state employment.
Cuba X-ray: Power Doesn’t Pay Debts but Demands ObedienceIn the midst of blackouts lasting up to 25 hours and more than 3 million Cubans facing limited access to drinking water, Miguel Díaz-Canel once again promised “victories.” Yet while his talk centers on creative resistance, families turn to homemade inventions to collect rainwater and survive in increasingly precarious conditions.
Everyday Miracles: Church Feeds Hundreds in Santiago de CubaEvery other Saturday, something extraordinary happens at Santa María parish in Santiago de Cuba. There, Anglican priest Rodhin A. Colomar has woven a community network that provides food to hundreds of Cubans.
How a Spanish Food Products Vendor Makes Big $$$ in CubaA Spanish company based in La Coruña, Corporación Alimentaria Vima, made millions in profits in 2024 thanks to its food export business to Cuba, a country going through one of its worst food crises in decades. The contrast between the figures reported by the company and the reality of Cuban peso markets—empty for most of the population—is as striking as it is troubling.
Cuba: It’s Not Loneliness, It’s State AbandonmentFor brief moments, Marilu Placencia Gonzalez thinks she’s alone. But she isn’t. She lives with her son Gerardo who has a mental health disorder. Marilu’s skin is dry and scaly like that of a fish.
Bitterness Along the Miel River: The Story of a CollapseAt first glance, it looks like nothing more than splintered wood—a broken bridge, a skeleton of what once was. But for the residents of Boca de Miel, that fragile footbridge over the river is far more than debris. It's a raw wound left open six months after Hurricane Oscar hit, a symbol of a community still waiting for help that never came. It’s proof that Cuba’s reconstruction efforts aren’t reaching everyone equally.
From Cuban Engineer to Bus Driver in SpainMayulis, a Cuban electrical engineer, reinvented herself as a school bus driver in Murcia, Spain, after migration barriers prevented her from validating her degree. With determination and support from a local training program by Cáritas and FROET, she earned her commercial driving license and now works transporting children. Her story reflects the broader experience of over 62,000 Cubans who arrived in Spain between 2023 and 2024—many of whom must rebuild their lives from scratch.
Cuban Hurricane Victim “They Want Me to Live in a Tent”“This is what’s left of my house after the hurricane,” Yisneidis Ramirez writes on her Facebook page. Five photos show the palm boards scattered around on the ground and some roof tiles from what should have been her home.
The Story of a Cuban Who Conquers Palates in JapanFrom boxing to cooking: this was the journey of Valodia Carrero in Japan. The Cuban former athlete, better known as “Valo,” found success in an unexpected corner of the world. This time, not with gloves on, but with an apron and a spatula, greeting customers who visit his street food business, a food truck called “El Sandwichazo.”
Cubans Seeking the American Dream Are Now in LimboThe end of the CPB One app leaves Cuban and other migrants seeking legal entry to the USA facing a crossroads.
What’s Behind the Cooking Gas Shortage in Cuba?Cooking with firewood or going hungry seems to be the dilemma for many Cuban families who endure more than 15 hours of power outages daily.
What Changes with the New Internet Rates in Cuba?The Cuban government needs dollars. The Telecommunications Company of Cuba (Etecsa) can provide them. The equation seems straightforward: the people in Cuba and their emigrant relatives endure, face challenges, and pay.
