Cubans forced to beg

COLLAPSE: COUNTRY'S ECONOMIC CRISIS DRIVES MANY TO THE STREETS

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William Abel peers inside a plastic bag he dug out of a trash can in Havana while scrounging for his next meal. It contains rice, vegetables, a meatless chicken bone and flies competing for the spoils.

The 62-year-old has been sleeping on the streets since his house outside the capital collapsed two years ago—a frequent occurrence due to the dilapidation of many buildings, echoing an economy in ruins.

"Food is the hardest part. I've been rummaging through trash cans for two years to eat," he says, his speech hindered by many missing teeth.

Under a grimy T-shirt, Abel's body is skeletal. He says he suffers from arthritis, hypertension and a liver problem for which he has no medicine.