Cuba’s entire power grid failed on Saturday, marking the third nationwide blackout this month amid ongoing struggles with crumbling infrastructure and a U.S.-imposed oil embargo.
The state-run Cuban Electric Union confirmed a complete island-wide outage but did not specify the cause. Officials stated they are actively working to restore electricity.
Nationwide and regional blackouts have grown frequent over the past two years, driven by failures in the aging grid. These issues worsen due to fuel shortages that trigger daily cuts of up to 12 hours, further straining the system.
This latest blackout follows one on Monday and represents the second in the past week. The disruptions severely affect daily life, causing shortened workdays, inability to cook, food spoilage from non-functional refrigerators, and numerous other hardships.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel noted that Cuba has gone three months without oil imports from foreign suppliers, as the country produces only about 40% of the fuel required to sustain its economy.
While Cuba’s grid has deteriorated sharply in recent years, the government attributes the crises partly to a U.S. energy blockade. This stems from U.S. President Donald Trump’s January warning of tariffs on nations selling or supplying oil to Cuba. The Trump administration seeks Cuba’s release of political prisoners and steps toward political and economic reforms in exchange for easing sanctions. Trump has also floated the idea of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.”