From Havana: Manolo de los Santos on Cuba's Fight for Survival

Soberanía's Kurt Hackbarth sits down with activist Manolo de los Santos in Havana for an on-the-ground update on Cuba's worsening crisis.

Manolo describes how six decades of U.S. economic warfare, intensified by Trump's oil blockade, have ground daily life to a halt. Families lack electricity and water; a 96,000-person waitlist for operations includes 11,000 children.

Imagine living without electricity, where basic necessities like water become a luxury. Families are forced to adapt their lives around power outages, often getting only a few hours of electricity at night. It’s not just an inconvenience; it’s a systemic attempt to dismantle the fabric of everyday life in Cuba. The U.S. blockade is not just an economic measure; it’s a war on the very existence of a people.

Manolo connects Cuba's suffering to a broader U.S. strategy to reassert dominance over the entire hemisphere, warning that Mexico and the region are next if the empire is not stopped. Despite the bleak outlook, he sees reason for hope, including renewed labor mobilization in the U.S. His final message is direct: "Now is the time to fight. Now is the time to be out in the street."