CUBA PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS AFTER ‘COMPLETE SHUTDOWN OF NATIONAL GRID’

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Agency report

A nationwide power outage hit Cuba on Monday, with the state-owned electricity company confirming a fresh blackout as the country’s energy crisis deepens.

The outage was caused by a “complete shutdown of the national grid,” the Union Nacional Electrica de Cuba (UNE) said in a statement, adding that efforts were already underway to restore electricity.

The development marks the latest in a series of blackouts affecting the island, where an ageing power generation system continues to struggle under severe strain.

Cuba has been experiencing frequent power outages, with some regions enduring up to 20 hours of electricity cuts daily due to fuel shortages and failing infrastructure.

The crisis has worsened following the removal of Cuba’s key ally, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, on January 3, which disrupted oil supplies to the island.

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Since January 9, Cuba has reportedly been unable to import oil, further crippling its power sector and forcing airlines to scale back flights, dealing a significant blow to the country’s tourism industry.

The situation has intensified under continued pressure from Donald Trump, whose administration has maintained a de facto oil blockade against the island.

The ongoing energy and economic crisis has affected the country’s 9.6 million residents, with the government facing mounting challenges in sustaining electricity supply and essential services.

Earlier this month, a separate blackout plunged large parts of the country into darkness after a breakdown at the Antonio Guiteras power plant, the island’s largest facility, further highlighting the fragility of Cuba’s power infrastructure.

Pressure Mounts

The blackouts, as well as regular shortages of food, medicine, and other basics, are spurring frustrations, with demonstrators vandalizing a provincial office of the Cuban Communist Party last weekend.

It was part of a new trend of protests in which people bang pots and pans at night, at times yelling “Libertad,” or freedom.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged in an X post “the discontent our people feel because of the prolonged blackouts” after the early March outage.

“What will never be comprehensible, justified, or admitted is violence,” he said.

The government has rationed gasoline sales and some hospital services due to the fuel shortages, and Diaz-Canel acknowledged last week that his government had held talks with the United States.