On Friday, citizen dissatisfaction in Cuba due to the severe water supply crisis in Havana clashed once again with official repression. State Security summoned two young women who took to the streets to demand access to a basic right: clean water. These summonses, shared on social media, concern Magalis and Sabrina Anglada Mena, daughters of exiled dissident Ariadna Mena Rubio.
The sisters are required to appear at the PNR Station on Dragones Street in Central Havana. Their mother expressed her defiance on Facebook, stating, "Down with the dictatorship and well," capturing the spirit of resistance that endures even in the face of potential imprisonment.
Activist Lara Crofs revealed on Facebook that the women must be "interviewed" by Counterintelligence Officer Anthony. "The crime of these mothers is protesting the water shortage in Havana. (...) The only crime of these young women is demanding their right to a dignified life," she emphasized.
This summons is the regime's response to a protest led by a young woman on Monday on Monte Street, who used buckets to block traffic to highlight that her neighborhood had been without water for over five days. Other women, some with children, joined her protest, while men stood by at a distance.
Police officers quickly surrounded them. One officer even tried to confiscate a bucket, but the young woman defiantly took it back and placed it in the street again. This brief yet symbolic action underscores the public's frustration with the government's failure to ensure basic services.
The backdrop of this demonstration is the chronic water crisis in the capital, with neighborhoods in Central Havana and Regla enduring weeks without service. Despite Aguas de La Habana, the state water company, acknowledging the collapse of its aging infrastructure, the government's response is threats and persecution instead of effective solutions.
What should be an essential service has become an act of protest that risks the freedom of those bold enough to demand it. From Miami, Ariadna Mena Rubio, a well-known activist for human rights and political prisoners, speaks out for her daughters.
Upon arriving in the United States in 2023, she vowed to continue advocating for prisoners like José Daniel Ferrer and Maykel Osorbo, reaffirming her commitment to the freedom and dignity of those remaining in Cuba.
Thursday's episode once again demonstrates that the population is unwilling to remain silent. Despite the dictatorship's continued pattern of repression against basic demands such as water, citizens persist in expressing their discontent, challenging the threat of arrest, and proving that civil resistance remains alive amidst the crisis.
Cuban Water Crisis and Citizen Protests
What prompted the State Security to summon Magalis and Sabrina Anglada Mena?
The two young women were summoned by State Security because they participated in a protest demanding access to clean water in Havana, a basic right that has been denied to many due to the ongoing water crisis.
How did the government respond to the protest on Monte Street?
The government responded to the protest by summoning the participants for interviews with Counterintelligence, continuing a pattern of repression rather than addressing the underlying issues of the water crisis.
What is the role of Aguas de La Habana in the water crisis?
Aguas de La Habana, the state water company, has admitted to the collapse of its obsolete networks but has not provided effective solutions to the ongoing water shortages affecting Havana neighborhoods.