Cuba Hit by Sixth Major Blackout of the Year Amid Fuel Crisis and Sanctions
Millions in Cuba were left without electricity on Friday after a total disconnection of the national grid, marking at least the sixth major outage this year. The crisis is driven by aging infrastructure, severe fuel shortages exacerbated by US sanctions, and recent weather conditions.
Millions of people across Cuba were plunged into darkness on Friday following a "total disconnection" of the country's entire electricity grid. This incident marks at least the sixth partial or total blackout to hit the island nation this year, highlighting the deepening energy crisis facing the Caribbean country.
According to state operator UNE, the outage began just before 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT). The company attributed the failure to a transmission fault coupled with poor weather conditions in central Cuba. Cuba's energy ministry confirmed that the grid suffered a complete disconnection.
By late evening, power had been partially restored to priority areas in Havana, including hospitals and water pumping stations. Felix Estrada, the national load dispatch director for grid operator UNE, stated that protocols for the "gradual restoration" of power were activated, with the process continuing into Saturday.
The recurring blackouts are occurring against a backdrop of chronic fuel shortages and aging infrastructure. Since the start of the year, US sanctions and an oil blockade have further exacerbated these issues. Previously, Venezuela supplied around 35,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba—approximately half its needs—but supplies were cut off following the US seizure of President Nicolás Maduro in January.
US President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on countries shipping oil to Havana, and several such shipments have been seized by the United States. Washington attributes Cuba's energy crisis to poor internal management and accuses the government of posing a "national security threat." Conversely, Havana blames its fuel crisis on the Trump administration and denounced new sanctions announced in August.
Residents reported severe impacts from the outages, including a lack of water, cooking gas, and electricity. Food and medicine have become increasingly scarce, causing hospitals to struggle while schools and government offices remain closed. The repeated failures have prompted rare protests in Cuba, where unauthorized demonstrations are illegal and participants risk jail.