Cuba plunges into third major blackout this year as power crisis worsens

An island-wide blackout plunged Cuba into acheronian Monday arsenic nan country’s deepening power situation continues to strain its vulnerable powerfulness system. 

The outage affected astir 10 cardinal group earlier constricted energy work was restored successful immoderate areas. 

"A full disconnection of nan National Electric Power System is occurring," Cuba’s state-run Electric Union said Monday morning. "The causes are being investigated."

Cuba has faced progressively predominant powerfulness outages successful caller years arsenic nan state struggles pinch chronic substance shortages and deteriorating electrical grids. The situation worsened erstwhile President Donald Trump imposed further sanctions successful January and threatened tariffs connected countries that supply lipid to nan island. 

MILLIONS LOSE POWER ACROSS CUBA AS TRUMP SANCTIONS CONTINUE TO FUEL ONGOING ENERGY CRISIS

People locomotion connected nan thoroughfare during a blackout successful Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa)

During Monday’s blackout, nationalist proscription was mostly halted, and officials said tens of thousands of surgeries were canceled nationwide, according to The Associated Press (AP).

Authorities later said 1 generating portion had resumed operations astir 2 hours aft nan collapse. 

"Microsystems are already operational passim nan country, to guarantee protection for captious services," nan Electric Union said. 

RUSSIAN ‘DARK FLEET’ TANKER BELIEVED TO BE DELIVERING OIL TO CUBA, DETECTED OFF US COAST AMID TRUMP BAN

A kid walks pinch a vessel of lipid past a star sheet group up connected nan thoroughfare to complaint batteries during a blackout successful Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa)

The power curate said officials were moving to reconstruct powerfulness while accusing nan U.S. of contributing to Cuba’s power struggles. 

"Vital services proceed to beryllium protected, amidst this analyzable business exacerbated by nan power blockade we face," Vicente de la O Levy said.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel besides blamed U.S. policies, describing nan power blockade arsenic a "genocidal" measurement imposed by Washington. 

"While nan U.S. tries to induce a societal detonation done asphyxiation by blocking substance entree to #Cuba, nan UNE mobilizes to reverse nan SEN outage," Díaz-Canel said, referring to Cuba’s National Electric Power System. 

"What nan electrical workers are doing successful nan midst of a genocidal power blockade is heroic."

A female pinch her boy signals a car connected a acheronian thoroughfare during a blackout successful Bauta municipality, Artemisa province, Cuba, connected March 18, 2024.  (YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

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Cuba’s energy crisis intensified earlier this twelvemonth aft a U.S. subject cognition captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and halted Venezuelan lipid exports, cutting disconnected a cardinal root of substance for nan island. 

While Cuba produces only astir 40% of nan substance it needs, a Russian tanker delivered astir 730,000 barrels of lipid to nan state successful March, supplies that were depleted by nan extremity of April, according to The AP.

To conserve fuel, nan Cuban authorities has imposed scheduled powerfulness outages that person lasted much than 24 consecutive hours successful immoderate areas, nan outlet said. 

A blackout successful early March affected Cuba’s occidental provinces, while a abstracted outage successful mid-March plunged nan full land into darkness.