Cuba plunges into third major blackout this year as power crisis worsens

An island-wide blackout plunged Cuba into acheronian Monday arsenic the country’s deepening vigor situation continues to strain its fragile powerfulness system. 

The outage affected astir 10 cardinal radical earlier constricted energy work was restored successful immoderate areas. 

"A full disconnection of the National Electric Power System is occurring," Cuba’s state-run Electric Union said Monday morning. "The causes are being investigated."

Cuba has faced progressively predominant powerfulness outages successful caller years arsenic the state struggles with chronic substance shortages and deteriorating electrical grids. The situation worsened erstwhile President Donald Trump imposed further sanctions successful January and threatened tariffs connected countries that supply lipid to the island. 

MILLIONS LOSE POWER ACROSS CUBA AS TRUMP SANCTIONS CONTINUE TO FUEL ONGOING ENERGY CRISIS

People locomotion connected the thoroughfare during a blackout successful Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa)

During Monday’s blackout, nationalist proscription was mostly halted, and officials said tens of thousands of surgeries were canceled nationwide, according to The Associated Press (AP).

Authorities aboriginal said 1 generating portion had resumed operations astir 2 hours aft the collapse. 

"Microsystems are already operational passim the country, to guarantee extortion for captious services," the Electric Union said. 

RUSSIAN ‘DARK FLEET’ TANKER BELIEVED TO BE DELIVERING OIL TO CUBA, DETECTED OFF US COAST AMID TRUMP BAN

A kid walks with a vessel of lipid past a star sheet acceptable up connected the thoroughfare to complaint batteries during a blackout successful Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa)

The vigor curate said officials were moving to reconstruct powerfulness portion accusing the U.S. of contributing to Cuba’s vigor struggles. 

"Vital services proceed to beryllium protected, amidst this analyzable concern exacerbated by the vigor blockade we face," Vicente de la O Levy said.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel besides blamed U.S. policies, describing the vigor blockade arsenic a "genocidal" measurement imposed by Washington. 

"While the U.S. tries to induce a societal detonation done asphyxiation by blocking substance entree to #Cuba, the UNE mobilizes to reverse the SEN outage," Díaz-Canel said, referring to Cuba’s National Electric Power System. 

"What the electrical workers are doing successful the midst of a genocidal vigor blockade is heroic."

A pistillate with her lad signals a car connected a acheronian thoroughfare during a blackout successful Bauta municipality, Artemisa province, Cuba, connected March 18, 2024.  (YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

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Cuba’s vigor situation intensified earlier this twelvemonth aft a U.S. subject cognition captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and halted Venezuelan lipid exports, cutting disconnected a cardinal root of substance for the island. 

While Cuba produces lone astir 40% of the substance it needs, a Russian tanker delivered astir 730,000 barrels of lipid to the state successful March, supplies that were depleted by the extremity of April, according to The AP.

To conserve fuel, the Cuban authorities has imposed scheduled powerfulness outages that person lasted much than 24 consecutive hours successful immoderate areas, the outlet said. 

A blackout successful aboriginal March affected Cuba’s occidental provinces, portion a abstracted outage successful mid-March plunged the full land into darkness.