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Holguín residents report the collapse of garbage collection, CiberCuba says

A resident posted photographs of streets blocked by waste and vacant lots turned into dumps, and dozens of Holguín residents described institutional neglect in the comments. Estimated dengue cases in Cuba are running far above the historical average.

A Holguín resident identified as René Hernández posted photographs on Facebook documenting the state of garbage collection in the city: streets blocked by mounds of waste, vacant lots turned into makeshift dumps and pavements covered with plastic bags, rubble, cardboard and rotting organic matter, according to CiberCuba.

"These dumps are responsible for so very many of the diseases going around today... and nobody seems to care," Hernández wrote, noting it was not the first time he had raised the issue. "There is nothing to hold on to and no one to turn to," he added, in remarks translated by Yamacoa.

The post drew dozens of comments from Holguín residents describing the everyday consequences: streets reduced to one-way traffic by the mounds, and smoke drifting into homes and health centres when the waste is set alight.

Through 2026, residents of the province have reported dumps next to schools and nurseries, burning tips in neighbourhoods and waste piling up outside apartment blocks. In October, residents warned about a dump near Plaza de la Marqueta, beside food kiosks, and said the collection truck drove past without picking up the waste.

The Public Health Ministry acknowledged in September a simultaneous rise in dengue, diarrhoea, hepatitis and respiratory infections linked to shortcomings in environmental sanitation. The Global Dengue Observatory recorded 11,235 estimated cases in Cuba up to October 4, 9.2 times the expected historical average for that period.

The Pan American Health Organization donated 50 fumigation units to Holguín in September to strengthen control of the Aedes aegypti mosquito across the province's 14 municipalities, while the government acknowledged nationwide shortcomings in waste collection without offering concrete solutions for the province.

Sources: CiberCuba

Data updated: 2026-11-05T16:15:00.000Z

Holguín residents report the collapse of garbage collection, CiberCuba says | Yamacoa Observatory