Cuba’s electrical grid suffered a total collapse across the entire island on Monday, marking the first such nationwide blackout since the United States effectively severed the flow of oil to the nation of approximately 10 million people.
The state-owned power operator reported that the failure occurred despite no detected faults in the electrical units operating at the time.
While efforts to restore power are underway, the collapse follows weeks of an intensifying US oil blockade that has left the island’s energy infrastructure in a critical state, reports CNN.
Economic and social paralysis
Cuba remains heavily dependent on oil for electricity generation. Washington’s blockade of fuel shipments has exacerbated an existing energy crisis, resulting in intermittent power cuts, the rationing of medical supplies, and a sharp decline in the vital tourism sector.
The scarcity has driven unofficial fuel prices to as high as 300 – now exceeds the annual earnings of most Cubans.
In response to the emergency, the government has introduced drastic measures, including reduced school hours, the postponement of major sporting and cultural events, and significant cuts to transport services. Public health has also been affected, with government-run hospitals forced to curtail services, while a lack of fuel for dump trucks has led to refuse piling up in urban neighbourhoods.
Growing domestic unrest
The impact on daily life has been “tremendous” and “brutal,” according to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who noted on Friday that no oil had been delivered to the island in the last three months. On Saturday, residents in the city of Morón took to the streets to protest against electricity shortages and dwindling access to food.
In the capital, Havana, the energy crisis is visible in the “near total darkness” that swaths the city at night. Dayana Machin, a local resident, told Reuters that civilians are being forced to prepare with wood-burning stoves and water reserves. Additionally, internet traffic has plummeted to just one-third of its normal volume.
International and diplomatic tensions
The crisis has severely disrupted international travel. American Airlines, Delta, and Jet Blue have halted services, while Air Canada announced it would suspend flights until at least 1 November due to a shortage of aviation fuel.
The diplomatic rhetoric has sharpened alongside the blackout. Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío stated that US officials “must be feeling very happy by the harm caused to every Cuban family”.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump claimed last week that Cuba is “down to… fumes” and suggested his administration was open to “taking Cuba” in some form. The US recently disrupted Cuba’s oil supplies from Venezuela after removing that country’s president from power in January.
Washington has further threatened tariffs on other nations exporting oil to Havana, alleging that the island poses an “extraordinary threat” by aligning with “hostile countries”.
Cuba has rejected these claims, urging the United States to end its pressure campaign as the island remains in the grip of its worst energy failure in recent history.
