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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Y. Dnica Coto and Andrea Rodrguez

A solar-powered charging station in central Cuba brings life to a darkened island

Cuba Solar Station - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All right reserved)

Yudelaimys Barrero Muñoz used to spend up to three hours on the side of a highway under the blazing sun waving money at drivers as she attempted to hitch a ride from Cienfuegos, Cuba to Santa Clara, where she buys supplies to resell and support her husband and two children.

The 43-mile (70-kilometer) trip was impossible to make on her husband’s bicycle — at one time the family’s only mode of transportation — and later, with a rechargeable, three-wheeled vehicle whose battery didn't have the capacity for the round trip.

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