Millions without power as Cuba hit by latest major blackout

Millions in Cuba were left without electricity on Friday after the nation’s power grid suffered a total disconnection, plunging the island into yet another large‑scale blackout. Cuba’s energy ministry confirmed that the nationwide outage resulted from a complete grid failure. Power was restored to certain priority areas by late evening, including facilities near hospitals and water‑pumping stations in Havana, according to the state‑run grid operator UNE. UNE reported that the interruption began just before 14:00 local time on Friday (18:00 GMT), caused by a transmission fault exacerbated by adverse weather conditions in central Cuba. The operator’s national load‑dispatch manager, Felix Estrada, said protocols for a “gradual restoration” of service were activated, with work continuing into Saturday. The blackout marks at least the sixth partial or total outage to affect Cuba this year. Officials point to aging infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages, which have been worsened by a U.S. blockade on oil shipments to the communist‑run government. Cuba’s heavy reliance on imported fuel means that tightening U.S. sanctions and the ongoing oil embargo have intensified existing scarcities. Consequently, food and medicine have become harder to obtain, hospitals struggle to maintain normal operations, and many schools and government offices have been forced to close. Residents described the growing hardship. Havana resident Frank Lorenzo told Reuters, “Lately, it's becoming a habit.” He added, “Before it happened less often - once a month… just yesterday we were 24 hours without electricity, they turned it on for just an hour and it went down again.” Schoolteacher Lidia Fernandez, 36, told AFP, “It's one thing after another: no water, no gas for cooking, no electricity,” and confessed, “Honestly, I don't know how we haven't gone crazy.” Seventy‑year‑old Francisco Rodriguez said his home had been without power for 28 hours on Friday and warned he might go several days without light. The recurring outages have sparked uncommon protests in a country where unauthorized demonstrations are illegal and participants risk imprisonment. Havana has blamed its fuel crisis on the Trump administration, denouncing every sanction—including a new circular announced in August—as part of a broader campaign against the island’s leadership. Venezuela, traditionally a key ally, had been supplying Cuba with roughly 35,000 barrels of oil per day, about half of the island’s needs, until its own shipments were halted after the United States seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on nations that export oil to Havana, and several such shipments have already been intercepted by U.S. authorities. Washington, meanwhile, attributes Cuba’s energy difficulties to poor internal management and labels the situation a “national security threat.” Trump has repeatedly suggested removing Cuba’s leadership, even mentioning a possible “friendly takeover” as early as March this year.