Cuba Hit by Second Nationwide Blackout in Five Days Amid US Blockade

The island's power grid collapsed again on Friday as a deepening fuel shortage, driven by the US energy blockade, leaves the country without electricity

Cuba has suffered its second nationwide blackout in five days, as a worsening fuel shortage — the result of the US energy blockade on the Caribbean island — brought the country’s power grid down once more.

The Cuban National Electric Union said on X that the national power system collapsed completely at 4:30 pm local time on Friday, cutting electricity to users across the country.

The failure came just days after a similar total collapse of the grid on Monday. Power authorities had reconnected most of the network by late Tuesday, and by Wednesday the electric union said all provinces had been reconnected and supply restored nationwide — only for the system to fail again two days later.

Decades of blockade, a deepening crisis

Cuba has endured repeated nationwide blackouts over the years, driven by ageing power infrastructure, hurricanes, and other factors. The current crisis, however, has been sharply intensified by an oil blockade and sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump, which have plunged the island into an acute energy shortage. For decades, Cuba has struggled to import the fuel and equipment it needs to maintain and repair its outdated power plants.

The United Nations sounded the alarm last month over the humanitarian toll of the blockade. UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned of its consequences for the most vulnerable, cautioning that children were dying on the island as a result of the energy blockade and sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

Reference: PressTv