Roaches, bedbugs, rats, and other vermin infest the homes of Cubans in Havana

With trash piling up in the streets and broken sewage lines spewing human waste, cockroaches, rats, and other vermin are thriving in communist Cuba. The Castro dictatorship’s corruption and mismanagement has left the island with crippling fuel shortages, inoperative garbage trucks, and a lack of human resources to dispose of trash. Because of this, insects and rodents have begun invading the homes of Cubans, making life even more miserable.

Cuban independent journalist Jorge Luis Gonzalez Suarez reports from Havana via CubaNet (my translation):

A few days ago, when I called a married couple who are friends to let them know I was going to visit, they responded: “Don’t come, my house is flooded with bedbugs.”

Bedbugs have added to the other serious problems Cubans are facing. Tiny and difficult to detect at first, they cause strong bites on the skin, very bothersome itching, and welts, and they spread through clothes and packages that get infected in public places that don’t always have adequate hygiene.

[…]

Other insects that are proliferating are mosquitoes and gnats, which used to be rare in cities. Their bites can transmit dengue and chikungunya, which in extreme cases, can lead to death.

Years ago, there were frequent fumigation campaigns in homes, and water and garbage dump sites were eliminated to eradicate vectors. Now, due to a lack of fuel, fumigation is rare, except when a suspected or confirmed case is reported in an area.

There is also an invasion of cockroaches, and there are no reliable poisons to eradicate them. The imported aerosols sold by self-employed vendors and small businesses are scarce and priced beyond the reach of most people.

Termites and moths are very destructive to books and clothing. They are quite difficult to detect in time, and if action is not taken promptly, the infested object is ruined.

I’ll add to these pests fruit flies (harmless insects) that, while not harmful, are highly annoying.

And what to say about mice and rats, transmitters of bubonic plague and leptospirosis, which thrive in the tons of uncollected garbage that accumulate on the streets. Although these animals usually appear in ground-floor homes, they are now also invading higher floors, as has happened in my eight-story building, where on two occasions they have entered my apartment and those of other neighbors.

This is what the 65-year experiment with socialism has produced in Cuba, yet there are those who still believe it can work.