Cuba hit by nationwide blackout as US blockade deepens energy crisis

Cuba is facing its third nationwide blackout in six months due to an energy crisis deepened by the US fuel blockade. In the capital Havana, only 1 percent of electricity demand can be met.

Scraper SystemJuly 07, 2026, 10:47 AM

Cuba hit by nationwide blackout as US blockade deepens energy crisis

Cuba experienced a nationwide blackout for the third time this year amid an energy crisis aggravated by US sanctions. The outage, announced on Monday by the state-owned Electric Union, affected the island nation of about 10 million people. The agency said the cause of the blackout was being investigated.

Cuban Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy announced that protocols were being rapidly activated to restore electricity nationwide. "In this complex situation, worsened by the energy blockade we face, vital services continue to be protected," the minister said.

Grid operator UNE said it was supplying electricity to some vital services such as hospitals and food production centers, but as of the afternoon, it could only meet 1 percent of the demand in the capital Havana.

US blockade escalates crisis

Cuba was already suffering fuel shortages before US President Donald Trump cut off oil shipments from Venezuela to the island in January. Trump's threat to impose tariffs on any country selling or supplying oil to Cuba significantly worsened the situation and deepened the island's financial crisis. As a result, blackouts and planned power cuts accelerated.

Since January, Washington has allowed only one oil tanker from Russia to dock in Cuba, circumventing the blockade, as part of a sanctions campaign aimed at ending more than six decades of communist rule in Havana.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the US of "trying to provoke social unrest by strangling Cuba's fuel supply." In a social media post, he said, "Amid a genocidal energy blockade, the actions of electrical workers are heroic."

Public grapples with prolonged outages

This blackout is the eighth power outage on the island of 9.6 million people since late 2024. The government is implementing planned cuts nationwide to conserve fuel. In some parts of Havana, outages exceed 30 hours, while in rural areas they surpass 70 hours.

Meyboll Font, a 51-year-old freelance social media community manager, told AFP news agency: "Living like this is agony." Font said her neighborhood in Havana manages with only "three or four hours of electricity" a day, but this blackout is worse because "you never know when the power will come back."

Cuba hit by nationwide blackout as US blockade deepens energy crisis

Cuba is facing its third nationwide blackout in six months due to an energy crisis deepened by the US fuel blockade. In the capital Havana, only 1 percent of electricity demand can be met.