Cuban Mother Faces Police Threats After Protesting 15 Days Without Water and Power

A Cuban mother from the Lawton neighborhood in Havana reported facing police threats after seeking solutions for a prolonged 15-day period without water or electricity. This dire situation left her six-year-old daughter with a severe fever of 39.5 degrees Celsius, unable even to provide a cold compress.

Sady R. Companioni took to Facebook on Monday to share her plight, posting two videos showcasing her family's living conditions. The footage reveals piles of dirty laundry, a pot with scant chicken legs cooking over a makeshift wood stove, and an unsanitary bathroom. The household comprises five individuals, ranging from six to 73 years old, all suffering from vomiting and diarrhea, according to her account.

"They're killing us. We've been without water for 15 days. I can't even cool down my daughter, who has a high fever," she stated in the video.

Beyond the material hardship, Companioni highlighted the intimidation she faced when demanding accountability from authorities.

Efforts to Seek Assistance Met with Intimidation

According to her testimony, she approached the government command post in Lawton to complain about the lack of water and electricity. Instead of receiving assistance, she claims she was threatened with a police dispatch, shuffled between offices without resolution, and ultimately directed to the municipal headquarters of the Communist Party, where no solution was offered either.

"I shot these videos after returning from the government command post in Lawton, where they threatened to call a patrol on me, sent me to the Party, which resolves absolutely nothing," she lamented.

Impact on Vulnerable Family Members

The ordeal affected other children in the household as well. Companioni recounted how her eight-year-old niece suffered from severe dehydration, and the complete lack of water worsened the health conditions of both girls.

"My niece is completely dehydrated. My daughter has a fever of thirty-nine and a half," she asserted in the video.

Wider Crisis and Public Dissent

This complaint emerged just hours before another total collapse of the National Electric System (SEN) occurred on Monday night, with the Electric Union confirming a complete service disconnection at 10:43 p.m. By Tuesday morning, Havana had only restored 14% of its power supply.

The energy crisis exacerbates water shortages. Approximately 87% of Havana's pumping system relies on electricity, meaning extended blackouts leave hundreds of thousands without service. In July, over half a million residents reported water scarcity, while nationally, around 2.7 million Cubans face irregular access to water.

Lawton has become a hotspot of social unrest in Havana this year. On July 18, residents staged a cacerolazo and burned trash in protest of power outages; a week later, they demonstrated again, banging pots and using fire extinguishers amid power cuts lasting over 24 hours.

The neighborhood's tension has been accompanied by repression reports. On July 29, a woman was hit during a protest without police action against the driver, witnesses claimed. Two days later, State Security agents detained two mothers after another demonstration in Havana; one was arrested alongside her four-year-old son.

Companioni's case adds to a pattern of reprisals against citizens demanding basic services. According to the organization Cubalex, June 2026 saw 319 documented repressive events in Cuba, with nearly half of those affected being ordinary citizens, not political activists.