HAVANA — A group of residents in Moron, a city in central Cuba, took to the streets early Saturday and partially destroyed the local headquarters of the ruling communist party, authorities said. Five people were arrested in a demonstration linked to the island’s severe energy supply issues and access to food.
Videos published on social media showed that a drugstore and a store were also affected. The Cuban government said its interior ministry has opened an investigation into the case.
The protest comes as Cuba suffers more blackouts and fuel shortages since other countries in the region stopped sending oil. On Friday, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said he was holding talks with the U.S. government — the first confirmation of discussions with the Trump administration as the island grapples with the energy crisis.
Díaz-Canel said no petroleum shipments have arrived in Cuba in the past three months and blamed a U.S. energy blockade for the shortages. He said the island is running on a mixture of natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants.
Cuban authorities also say the depletion of fuel oil and diesel forced two power plants to shut down and has limited power generation at solar parks. The most recent blackout was blamed on a broken boiler at a thermoelectric plant that forced the shutdown of Cuba’s power grid.