Large piles of garbage have accumulated on the streets of Havana as fuel shortages cripple waste-collection services [1].
The crisis creates immediate sanitary and health hazards for the city's residents. The failure of the trash-collection infrastructure threatens public health in a densely populated urban center where waste management is already strained.
For several months leading up to May 2026, fuel shortages linked to the U.S. energy blockade have halted the trucks required to move waste [2]. This has resulted in mountains of trash appearing on major thoroughfares, including San Rafael Boulevard [3].
The scale of the problem is amplified by the city's size. Havana has a population of 2 million people [4], while the total population of Cuba is almost 10 million [5]. Without functioning trucks, the city cannot keep pace with the volume of refuse generated by its inhabitants.
Street sweepers are attempting to manage the overflow with limited resources. José Fernández Zaldívar, a street sweeper in the city, earns $9 per month [6]. The reliance on manual labor is insufficient to clear the massive accumulation of debris caused by the lack of motorized transport.
While the waste crisis persists, the Cuban government has accepted €86 million in aid [7]. However, the underlying fuel shortages continue to disrupt basic municipal services across the capital.
Residents said that the buildup of rot has attracted flies and rats [1]. The combination of tropical heat and decomposing waste increases the risk of disease outbreaks in residential areas.
“Large piles of garbage have accumulated on Havana’s streets, creating sanitary and health hazards”
The accumulation of waste in Havana illustrates how geopolitical pressures, specifically the U.S. energy blockade, translate into tangible public health crises. When fuel shortages disable basic municipal services like trash collection, the result is a breakdown in urban sanitation that disproportionately affects the city's most vulnerable residents and low-wage workers.
