Cuba experiences islandwide power outage amid fuel shortages and grid failures

A nationwide blackout hit Cuba on Monday, affecting the island’s nearly 10 million residents. The state-run Electric Union reported the outage on X and said the cause is under investigation, while the Ministry of Energy and Mines announced activation of protocols to restore power.

Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said that essential services remained operational a few hours after the outage, noting the situation was worsened by what he described as an "energy blockade."

President Miguel Díaz-Canel blamed the United States for the fuel shortage, accusing Washington of trying to provoke social unrest by restricting Cuba’s fuel supply.

Cuba, which produces about 40% of its own fuel, has been relying on imports, including a 730,000-barrel shipment from Russia that was exhausted by the end of April. The country has also been implementing scheduled power cuts that can last over 24 hours. Previous blackouts in March and May affected the entire island and its eastern provinces, respectively.

Residents expressed concern over the loss of electricity, water and gas, and the impact on daily life, including cooking and medical procedures that have been postponed or canceled.