Cuba experiences nationwide power outage amid ongoing energy crisis
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Cuba's electricity grid collapsed on Monday, adding to a year-long energy shortage that officials link to U.S. restrictions on fuel supplies.
Cuba's national electricity grid suffered a total collapse on Monday, prompting the country's energy ministry to confirm a nationwide blackout while the grid operator began investigating the cause. The outage follows a series of blackouts in recent years as aging infrastructure struggles to meet demand.
Authorities said the power shortage has disrupted essential services such as schools, transport and medical facilities. The crisis has intensified after the United States halted oil shipments from Cuba's main suppliers earlier this year, a move the Cuban government says has deepened the island's economic difficulties.
In March, the island experienced two complete blackouts within a week, and fresh U.S. sanctions have further constrained the economy and reduced tourism. The Cuban National Assembly recently approved a package of economic reforms aimed at opening the market, which a foreign trade minister said were not a reaction to external pressure.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson described the reforms as "modest, long overdue and ultimately superficial smoke signals." Meanwhile, diplomatic contacts have continued, with recent meetings between U.S. and Cuban officials, including a visit by the CIA director to Havana and discussions with senior Cuban military leaders near Guantanamo Bay.
Cuban officials have denied U.S. accusations that the island hosts Russian and Chinese listening posts. When asked about the humanitarian impact, Cuba's minister of foreign trade and investment accused the United States of collective punishment, calling the situation a "genocide."