Havana Trash Piles Reach 4 Feet as Cuba's Oil Reserves Run Dry
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 31
Havana Trash Piles Reach 4 Feet as Cuba's Oil Reserves Run Dry
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 31
Trash heaps in Havana have grown as high as 4 feet and stretched half a block, turning garbage into one of Cuba’s most visible urban crises.
Cuba’s government says its oil reserves have run dry, leaving too little gasoline to run garbage trucks and even hampering street sweepers.
Residents in neighborhoods including Central Havana say overflowing waste can block home entrances, while flies swarm around piles of bottles, food scraps and other litter.
Some people have started burning garbage to cope, underscoring how fuel shortages are spilling from the energy system into daily public health and sanitation.
With trash burning in the streets, can Cuba's green energy plan solve a crisis fueled by the US oil blockade?
Is the severe humanitarian crisis in Cuba an intended consequence of US sanctions aimed at forcing political reform?