The atmosphere of desperation and paralysis of life generated by blackouts has been the subject of multiple complaints
14ymedio/YucaByte, Havana, 19 June 2024 — Blackouts set the pace of life in Cuba, heating up tempers and triggering protests of a different caliber in a summer that is just beginning. With an increasingly unstable country on their hands, the higher-ups observe how the historical leadership is crumbling. The death of the last generals – such as Raúl Castro [age 93] or Ramiro Valdés [age 92] – will mark, according to the rumors that collaborators with 14ymedio and YucaBite have collected in May, the beginning of a bloody dispute for power.
The signs pointing to warring factions within Castroism are already visible, say many users, who see in President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s trip to Moscow an attempt to win Vladimir Putin as a “godfather,” in the absence of Raúl. However, rumors indicate that the Kremlin is not getting along with the hand-picked Cuban president and there is talk of a cut in aid to Havana.
The key arguments are that Putin no longer trusts that Díaz-Canel is capable of maintaining control of the social tension on the Island, along with the old age of the historical leaders and, above all, the very high level of corruption of the current leaders, the majority appointed or ratified by the current president.
It was also suggested that not even a high-ranking official like Valdés is exempt from a possible purge. If last month there was speculation about his death – false information, as it turned out – it is now stated that Raul Castro ordered his properties to be confiscated, and the companies he supervised to be removed from his office, such as the military corporation Cimex, and the authority of the current leadership to be reinforced.
There were also comments that Díaz-Canel’s wife, Lis Cuesta, had also been detained in a police operation similar to the one that brought down the former Minister of Economy, Alejandro Gil, whose current situation is also unknown. Cuesta – according to rumors – is accused of organizing much of the business corruption in Havana.
Elián González, the “child star” of Fidel Castro’s propaganda, took a
