Cuba experienced its second nationwide blackout in just five days this Friday, further straining the island nation’s already crumbling electricity grid. The state-run electricity company, UNE, reported a total collapse of the national electric system occurring at 4:30 p.m. local time (2030 UTC). According to officials from Cuba’s Energy Ministry, protocols have been activated to initiate the recovery process, though no specific explanation for the failure was provided by authorities.
This latest incident represents the fourth nationwide power outage of 2026 and the ninth since the start of 2024. The country has been operating under severe energy constraints, with experts estimating a daily requirement of over 100,000 barrels of oil to meet national needs. These challenges are exacerbated by a six-month US fuel blockade and long-standing, dilapidated energy infrastructure.
The current energy crisis intensified after US President Donald Trump restricted oil supplies in January, part of a broader effort to pressure the Cuban government. This shift in policy followed the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the US, which resulted in his replacement by acting President Delcy Rodriguez. Venezuela had previously served as a primary oil supplier to Cuba.
Since the implementation of the blockade, only one Russian oil tanker has docked in Cuba, providing enough fuel to cover approximately two weeks of the country’s energy consumption. While Havana consistently points to the decades-long US economic embargo as the primary cause of its failing infrastructure, Washington maintains that the crisis is the result of state mismanagement of the Cuban economy. Earlier this week, 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, but the grid remains highly volatile.
Don't let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google by clicking here and hitting the "star" or "preferred" button, so you'll always see our verified news first.
