Cuba Suffers Third Nationwide Blackout in Six Months, People in Despair

(CNA Havana, July 7 - Reuters) Cuba experienced a nationwide blackout yesterday, the third this year, with power gradually being restored today. The despair of the Cuban people is growing due to an energy collapse caused by the US fuel blockade.

According to AFP, after US President Donald Trump cut off Cuba's oil supply in January, Cuba, already facing power supply difficulties, further depleted its dwindling fuel reserves for power plants.

Cuba's state-owned Union Electrica (UNE) announced at noon yesterday that the entire island's electricity was "completely cut off," leaving Cuba's 9.6 million residents without power, but did not specify the cause of the outage. This is the eighth blackout in Cuba since the end of 2024.

The company stated this morning that over 30% of the capital, Havana, has had power restored, including supply to 43 medical centers and 9 water distribution facilities.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel directly blamed the blackouts on US energy sanctions, stating that the US is attempting to incite social unrest by blocking fuel supplies, and that Union Electrica has mobilized to reverse the collapse of the national power system.

The widespread blackout comes as the Cuban government implements increasingly stringent power rationing measures nationwide to save fuel. Some areas of Havana have experienced continuous power outages exceeding 30 hours, and some rural areas have been without power for over 70 hours.

"Living like this is truly painful," said 51-year-old freelance social media manager Meyboll Font. (Intern translator: Cai Yarong / Editor: Yang Zhaoyan) 1150707

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