SAN DIEGO — In the days following Hurricane Ian, which barreled across the Caribbean before pounding Florida, many people in Cuba are still struggling without power.
The Cuban people, many who are driven by hunger and frustration, have taken to the streets to protest the blackouts, but the government has cut off internet on the island in an effort to silence protesters who grow restless as each day passes.
Since the storm, much of the island’s 11 million people have been left without power after the storm knocked out the nation’s power grid and devastated Pinar Del Rio Province, where much of the tobacco used for cigars is grown.
Javier Coto, a Cuban living in San Diego, says his family and friends back home are fighting each day just to survive.
He tells me in Spanish, “They don’t have power, the little food that they have has gone to waste, they have no water...so, everything is having to be rationed out."
However, Coto says the widespread blackouts have been happening on the island long before any storm.
The economic crisis plaguing the island, has led to frequent power outages across Cuba for years but has gotten worse in recent months.
Many say the blackouts have made it almost impossible to go on with daily life.
“And that’s why they are protesting,” said Coto.
In the days following the storm, hundreds of Cubans have risked their lives to protest the lack of electricity.
Power has since been restored in only some parts of the country, but others are still in the dark. Internet and cellphone service are also out.
The country's power grid was already in a critical state long before Ian due to poorly maintained plants.
“It’s the government’s fault, they are responsible to maintain the integrity of the power grid – due to their lack of maintenance Cubans are in the situation they are in," said Cuba.
A foreign monitoring group reported late last week that Cuba’s internet service shut down for problems unrelated to the storm, to block information about the recent protests from spreading, a method Coto says the government has been doing for years to try to maintain control over the island.
For now, Coto says he communicates with his family very little, only when they can connect. He adds that there's no sign of the situation improving soon.
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