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- October 17, 202614°
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- USD49.45+0.05%
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- INTEREST37.00%-1.00
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- October 17, 202614°
Cuba faces third nationwide blackout in six months under US blockade
Cuba experienced a nationwide blackout due to an energy crisis deepened by US sanctions. While only 1 percent of electricity demand could be met in the capital Havana, the population is grappling with days-long outages.
Cuba, squeezed by US sanctions, has entered a new phase in its energy crisis. The country faced a nationwide blackout for the third time since the start of the year. The outage in the island nation of about 10 million people was announced on Monday by the state-owned Electric Union.
Cuban Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy announced that protocols were quickly activated to restore electricity. The minister said, "In this complex situation worsened by the energy blockade we face, vital services continue to be protected."
Grid operator UNE stated that it supplied electricity to critical points such as hospitals and food production centers, but as of the afternoon, it could meet only 1 percent of the demand in the capital Havana.
US sanctions campaign fuels crisis
Cuba was already suffering from fuel shortages before US President Donald Trump cut off oil shipments from Venezuela to the island in January. Trump's threat to impose tariffs on countries selling or supplying oil to Cuba significantly worsened the situation and deepened the island's financial crisis. As a result, blackouts and planned outages accelerated.
Since January, as part of a sanctions campaign aimed at ending the communist government in Havana, Washington has allowed only one oil tanker from Russia to breach the blockade and dock in Cuba.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the US of "trying to provoke social unrest by strangling Cuba's fuel supply." In a social media post, he said, "In the midst of a genocidal energy blockade, the actions of electricity workers are heroic."
Public struggles to survive prolonged outages
This blackout is the eighth power outage on the island of 9.6 million people since late 2024. The government is implementing planned outages nationwide to conserve fuel. In some parts of Havana, outages exceed 30 hours, while in rural areas they surpass 70 hours.
Meyboll Font, a 51-year-old freelance social media community manager who spoke to AFP news agency, said, "Living like this is agony." Font said her neighborhood in Havana gets by on only "three or four hours of electricity" a day, but this blackout is worse because "you never know when the power will come back."
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