March 5th, the first day in Havana of my 2026 trip. I’ve been there before, but each time my love for this country, its history, and its revolution only grows; that’s why, if all goes as I hope (and I’ll do everything I can to make it so), in just over two years I’ll be moving here permanently.
Having said this, let’s begin to talk about this country, unique in the world for its resilience, its tenacious defense of its freedom, its independence, its sovereignty, a resistance that has lasted for many years; precisely since January 1, 1959, the day of the triumph of the revolution, which was shortly followed by what is commonly called an embargo, but which is in reality a siege. It’s as if Cuba were an ancient castle perched atop a mountain and surrounded by a besieger, who has since deployed every form of direct and indirect aggression, coercion, threats, and sanctions against anyone who maintains any kind of relationship with the island. Only a handful of nations that have virtually no relations with the United States and therefore are immune to its blackmail, stubbornly manage to get anything to Cuba.
A siege that, although this seems impossible, has recently been further tightened by the current occupant of the White House (a person I don’t even want to name because he disgusts me so much). This tightening, as many will know, affects the import of oil and its derivatives. The United States, in fact, imposes all kinds of sanctions on producing countries that ship oil to Cuba. As you can easily imagine, this has terrible consequences; transportation is just the last piece of a system based almost entirely on electricity generation from fossil-fuel-fired thermoelectric plants. Indeed, the greatest problems concern all those businesses that cannot meet the country’s basic needs without electricity, hospitals first and foremost. Imagine if this were to happen in Italy, with hospitals and healthcare facilities without electricity… So I have no qualms about speaking of a siege.
During the emergency, the Cuban government implemented several countermeasures, including allocating available energy resources to essential activities and rationing fuel for other activities. With remarkable foresight, it also initiated an energy policy strongly oriented toward photovoltaic production: already on my first trip, in 2023, I saw several photovoltaic parks stretching along the Carretera Central, the long, winding road that runs from the east to the west of the island. Back then, these were extensive facilities that required large spaces and obviously lacked storage batteries, so the energy produced was fed directly into the national grid. Today, since there’s plenty of sunshine here, in addition to the continued expansion of these parks, the installation of storage systems in all types of public and private buildings has been initiated and incentivized, including with government funding.
This is largely possible thanks to the extraordinary assistance of China, which, as I believe everyone knows, possesses cutting-edge technology in this field as well. Strolling around Havana, in fact, you can see how many small and medium-sized areas, until recently abandoned, are now being exploited to install these plants.
But all this isn’t enough, because the path to definitive energy liberation is long and complex; currently, energy production from alternative sources covers only about 30% of the country’s needs, while the United States is doing everything it can to suffocate the country, with unfortunately very evident effects. Blackouts last dozens of hours and leave the population in a state of profound frustration, mixed with anger at an inhuman collective punishment and, unfortunately, also resentment and desperation, which threaten to cause Cuban society to implode due to the lack of all basic necessities. And the situation is worsening day by day… Even tourism is dwindling, and with its almost total disappearance, one of the most important resources of the country, possibly its main resource, is gone.
Energy initiatives don’t end with photovoltaic panels; walking through the streets of Havana, you immediately notice a rather surreal silence, both because there are few internal combustion engine vehicles on the road due to fuel rationing, but above all because the streets are filled with motorcycles and small, all-electric three-wheelers made in China.
Today, I myself, who am here also on behalf of the National Association of Italy-Cuba Friendship (ANAIC), of which I am a member, have undertaken a mission that has filled my heart. The Lombardy branches of the ANAIC have been twinned for over thirty years with the ICAP (Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples) delegation in the province of Las Tunas. This is not a formal twinning, but a living and dynamic relationship, thanks to which solidarity changes from a simple formula into concrete assistance. Last year, when the only CT scanner available in that province broke down and spare parts were unavailable due to the aforementioned siege, the Lombardy clubs promptly took charge, with numerous donations from members, and purchased the necessary spare parts then shipped them to Cuba. Today, however, with a new fundraising among all members, we responded to their request for help to install a photovoltaic system with storage for the sum of €8,000. Personally delivering this tangible help to the secretary of the ICAP of Las Tunas, Maria Romero Rodriguez, was a very emotional moment for me.
Still on the subject of concrete aid, many travelers from all kinds of support organizations for Cuba, including myself, never come here empty-handed, but with one or more suitcases full of all kinds of medicines, which, as you can imagine, cannot reach Cuba due to the siege. We transport medicines for friends, friends of friends, acquaintances, relatives, but above all for hospitals and healthcare facilities.
It is precisely when the needs are greatest that solidarity is most tangible. An extraordinary Italian woman has lived in Havana for years: Barbara Iadevaia, a volunteer with the Italian Community in the World and a representative of the ASC (Swiss Cuba Association) in the Canton of Ticino, represents the bridge of solidarity between Europe and Cuba. She receives all kinds of medicines, medications, and medical supplies, and she organizes their distribution to every corner of the island.
Barbara’s and my own unconditional love for this country and its people drives us to do what we do, because Cuba has always shown solidarity with every other nation and deserves all our help and support.
