Over Three In Four Cubans Want To Flee The Island As Its Economy Crumbles Down, Poll Shows

Over three in four Cubans intend to flee the country, according to a poll that illustrates the country's economic decay.

The survey was conducted by the Social Rights Observatory during the summer and reported by the Wall Street Journal as part of a broader piece about the country's crumbling economy and the chances of it getting worse as a result of the U.S.'s campaign against Venezuela.

The same poll showed that seven in ten respondents go at least without a meal a day and nearly 90% live in extreme poverty. Moreover, for over 70% of Cubans their main concerns are the lack of food and constant blackouts.

Some 2.7 million people have already left Cuba since 2020, a quarter of the population. Hundreds of thousands have gone to the U.S., Havana-based demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos told the outlet.

In another passage of the piece, the WSJ said that Cubans are "going hungry, suffering from spreading disease and sleeping outdoors with no electricity to power fans through the sweltering nights. Some told the outlet that garbage is piling up, communicable diseases are spreading and many children aren't going to school. Moreover, water is not always available, meaning many can't bathe, wash dishes or flush their toilets.

The outlet added that the situation is set to deteriorate further as oil shipments from Venezuela could decline more as a result of the U.S.'s military campaign against Caracas, which now involves the seizure of sanctioned tankers off the country's coast.

As a result, the Cuban regime is doing all it can to prevent Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro from being toppled, the outlet added.

Thomas A. Shannon Jr., a former high-ranking U.S. diplomat who dealt frequently with the regime, told the outlet that Havana is "taking very good care of Nicolas Maduro and his immediate successors." "The Cubans are not going to go quietly into the dark night," he added.

The New York Times also reported earlier this month that Maduro has also leaned on Cuba as the Trump administration escalates its pressure campaign against his regime.

The outlet added that Maduro has also expanded the role of Cuban bodyguards in his security detailed and added more counterintelligence officers from the country to the Venezuelan military.