Pot-banging protests erupted across several neighbourhoods in Havana on May 13 evening as Cuba’s capital endured some of its worst rolling blackouts in decades amid a US fuel blockade that has severely strained the island’s energy supplies.


Hundreds of people took to the streets to block traffic, set fire to piles of rubbish, banged pots and pans, and chanted slogans criticising the Cuban authorities, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.


Protesters chanted slogans including “Turn on the lights!” and “The people, united, will never be defeated!”


Witnesses described the demonstrations as the largest single night of protests in Havana since the energy crisis began.


The unrest comes as Cuba faces worsening shortages of fuel, food and medicine.


Energy Minister Vicente de la O made it clear earlier that the country had completely exhausted its diesel and fuel oil reserves, warning that the national power grid was in a “critical” condition.


Some parts of Havana have reportedly experienced outages lasting 20 to 22 hours per day.


Residents said the prolonged blackouts had made daily life unbearable.


One Havana resident told Reuters his neighbourhood had gone more than 40 hours without electricity, causing food spoilage and hardship for elderly residents.


"We started banging pots to see if they`d give us just three hours of electricity. That`s all we want. This isn`t a political problem," said Alonso, a state worker.


Electricity briefly returned in some areas during the demonstrations, prompting crowds to cheer before dispersing. Security forces maintained a heavy presence but largely refrained from intervening.


Cuban officials say the energy crisis has sharply worsened since January, when US President Donald Trump imposed stricter measures targeting fuel supplies to the island and threatened tariffs against countries exporting oil to Cuba. The government says the restrictions, combined with rising global energy prices linked to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, have complicated efforts to secure fuel imports.


The United Nations last week criticised the US fuel blockade, calling it unlawful and warning that it undermines Cubans’ access to food, healthcare, water and other essential services.


By Bakhtiyar Abbasov