Havana, Cuba – “I have two bits of news for you: one good and one bad.”
Those were the first words Elena Garcia, a 28-year-old web designer, heard when she woke up on the morning of January 3, hours after a United States military operation abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“The good news is that the water has arrived,” her boyfriend continued. “The bad news is that they kidnapped Maduro, and that means that this year we will surely have blackouts.”
Supply shortages are endemic throughout much of Cuba. In Villa Panamericana, the neighbourhood in Havana where Garcia lives, deliveries of fresh water had not arrived for a week.
Still, compared to the rest of the city, the neighbourhood is relatively privileged: It suffers from fewer power outages than other areas.
But until this month, Cuba has been able to rely on Venezuela for support,…
