Cuba suffers second nationwide blackout in five days

Cuba saw its second nationwide blackout in five days on Friday. The island nation's electricity grid has crumbled amid a six-month US fuel blockade and already dilapidated energy infrastructure. This is Cuba's ninth nationwide power outage since 2024, and the fourth in 2026.

State electricity company UNE said in a post on X that there had been a "total collapse of the national electric system" at 4:30 p.m. local time (2030 UTC). "Protocols are being activated to begin the recovery process," Cuba's Energy Ministry said on social media. There was no immediate explanation of the blackout from Cuban authorities.

Authorities attributed Monday's outage to voltage instability and low levels of electricity output. Most of the country was reconnected to the grid by late Tuesday.

Cuba had already grappled with electricity shortages when US President Donald Trump cut off the country's oil supplies in January, with the US leader vowing to bring down Cuba's communist government. The move came shortly after the US kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and brought him to the United States, leading to his effective replacement by acting President Delcy Rodriguez. Venezuela was previously a major oil supplier to Cuba.

Only one oil tanker has docked in Cuba since the start of the US blockade. The Russian tanker's load covered only about two weeks of Cuba's energy needs. The oil blockade also comes amid a decadeslong US economic embargo against Cuba.

Havana blames its ailing infrastructure on the US embargo. Washington maintains it is due to state mismanagement of the Cuban economy. According to estimates, Cuba needs over 100,000 barrels of oil per day to meet its energy needs.