The young Santiaguero identified as Donald Yordan Sánchez, died heroically after saving his mother from his sinister.
Arequipa, Peru – A tragedy in full blackout caused consternation during the early morning of this Sunday among the residents of San Antonio Street, located in the historic center of the city of Santiago de Cuba.
According to the independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta to through Facebooka young Santiago identified as Donald Yordan Sánchez, died heroically after saving his mother and his partner from the flames who devoured his home.
Between 4:00 am and 5:00 am on July 27, Donald manipulated gas between two containers in the middle of the dark of a blackoutwhen the candle that had close to Alumbrase meant the trigger for the incident.
“A spark, a spilled drop and everything changed in seconds. The fire spread rapidly, leaving the family trapped inside the house,” Mayeta wrote.
According to nearby sources consulted by the journalist, the young man fought to get his mother’s partner from the flames. He succeeded, the mother suffered burns on her face, but Donald could not escape.
After locking himself in the bathroom to protect himself from the fire, the Santiago died from suffocation and severe burns.
“Donald’s story is not isolated. It is the portrait of a country where darkness not only turns off bulbs, but whole lives. Where a young man dies calcined for trying to light his house in the middle of a blackout, while the regime organizes concerts and anniversary speeches,” says Mayeta towards the end of his publication.
In areas of the interior of the country, the cuts can exceed 20 hours a day, forcing many families to cook with firewood, improvise risky lighting or cooling systems, and completely reorganize their routines.
Older people, young children and patients with chronic diseases, are the most vulnerable sectors in this situation; which in turn aggravates food insecurity and limits access to drinking water and basic health services.
The energy crisis that Cuba lives is not new, but has climbed more intensity since 2021, when the mass blackouts began after the collapse of several generating units. To this are added the chronic lack of currency, inefficiency in state management, imported fuel dependence and the technical deterioration of an obsolete system.
So far from 2025, at least four national blackouts have been recorded that have left Cuba completely in the dark for several hours. Meanwhile, the regime maintains censorship about official protests and misinformation, without allowing free access to technical data or independent means.
