A Cuban mother from Santiago de Cuba has voiced her anger against Miguel Díaz-Canel following his recent televised speech. In his address, the Cuban leader urged the people to show "resilience," stating each municipality must "eat what it produces" amid the island's most severe energy and food crisis in decades.
The video, shared on Facebook by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, captures the woman condemning the extreme hardship many Cuban families endure and questioning the regime's audacity.
"Do you believe that shameless man is experiencing the crisis this mother is going through? I don't think so," she expressed, visibly upset.
In the footage, the mother demonstrates how she is forced to cook using wooden logs as fuel, a scene reminiscent of the harshest years of the Special Period. "Look at the resilience that shameless man is demanding from us. I am speechless," she repeats while focusing on the makeshift firewood.
She further criticizes the poor quality of state-distributed food, claiming that after a long wait, she received only "a pound of muddy rice" and peas so tough that she needs "two logs thicker than a post" to soften them.
This testimony emerges as Díaz-Canel publicly acknowledges the worsening energy crisis, even admitting that Cuba has reverted to conditions similar to the Special Period. During his public appearance, the leader stated that no oil has arrived from Venezuela since December 2025, and announced "restrictive" measures, urging the population for more sacrifices and conservation.
"I'm not an idealist. I know we are going to face difficult times... but we will overcome them together with creative resilience," the president declared.
However, for many Cubans like this mother from Santiago, those words ring hollow.
In her statement, the woman also addressed U.S. President Donald Trump, asserting that international measures do not harm those in power but rather the people.
"Everything you are doing, Donald Trump, you're not hurting the president. The president has food... it's us whose lives you are screwing over," she stated.
The video adds to a growing wave of public outrage on social media, where thousands of Cubans have reacted with disdain to the official call for "resistance," while households resort to cooking with firewood, medicine shortages persist, and the country sinks into endless blackouts.
Understanding the Cuban Crisis: Key Questions and Answers
What is causing the current crisis in Cuba?
The crisis is primarily due to a severe shortage of energy and food resources, exacerbated by the lack of oil shipments from Venezuela since December 2025. This has led to conditions reminiscent of the Special Period in Cuba.
How are Cuban families coping with the crisis?
Many Cuban families are struggling to make ends meet, resorting to cooking with firewood due to the lack of gas and enduring poor-quality, insufficient food supplies distributed by the state.
What has been the response of the Cuban government to the situation?
The Cuban government, led by Miguel Díaz-Canel, has called for "creative resistance" and announced restrictive measures, asking the population to make further sacrifices and conserve resources.