Cuba sees third power grid collapse in a month amid US oil blockade
Cuba’s power grid collapsed Saturday, marking the second time in a week this has happened and the third blackout this month. Restoration efforts continued Sunday.
State utility Unión Eléctrica said on social media that a “total disconnection of the National Electric Power System occurred.”
Earlier this month, a majority of the system went offline after a major thermoelectric plant failed. Then this past Monday, Cuba’s energy ministry investigated a “complete disconnection” of the grid.
Saturday’s outage was triggered by a failure at a generating unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey province.
“From that moment, a cascading effect occurred in the machines that were online,” the Ministry of Energy and Mines said, according to The Associated Press.
As of Sunday morning, 72,000 of Havana’s roughly 2 million residents had electricity. Local microsystems were set up to restore limited power, the AP reported.
Repeated failures strain aging system
Cuba’s aging infrastructure has drive recurring outages for years, with breakdowns becoming more frequent over the past two.
Officials say fuel shortages tied to a U.S. oil blockade have made the situation worse.
Shortly after the U.S. captured Venezuela’s former President Nicolás Maduro in January, it gained control over the country’s oil exports and stopped deliveries to Cuba. The Trump administration has also threatened tariffs on countries that continue selling oil to the island.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday the country hasn’t received oil imports for three months.
Aid arrives as shortages deepen
That same day, hundreds of people from dozens of countries began arriving in Cuba as part of what the AP described as a “solidarity caravan” delivering about 20 tons of aid.
The group, known as “Our America Convoy to Cuba,” includes participants from Europe, the United States and several Latin American countries.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called for an end to the oil blockade while expressing support for the aid effort.
“This is economic warfare designed to suffocate an island. Food is spoiling. Water supply is compromised. Healthcare services are disrupted,” she said.
Talks continue, limits remain
U.S. and Cuba officials have held talks in recent weeks, but Havana has drawn clear boundaries.
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said Friday the country’s political system is not up for negotiation.
“Nor is the president, nor the position of any official in Cuba, subject to negotiation with the United States or with the government of any other country,” he said.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
