Cuba's Power Grid Collapses, Causing Nationwide Blackout — Third Time in Under 10 Days

(Central News Agency, Havana, April 14 -综合 international news) Cuba's state-owned power company, the 'Cuban Electric Union' (UNE), announced today that the national power grid completely collapsed at approximately 11:05 a.m. This marks the third grid failure in less than 10 days, triggering another nationwide blackout.

According to AFP, this is already the third nationwide blackout in Cuba this month and the fifth this year. Authorities have not yet explained the cause.

Cuba has long been suffering from its worst economic crisis in decades. In January, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a fuel embargo to pressure the communist regime to end its 60-year rule, further worsening the situation.

Due to fuel shortages, restoring power in Cuba takes longer and is more difficult. The two island-wide blackouts last week each took over 24 hours to restore electricity for the nation's 9.6 million people.

In the capital Havana, each outage lasted over 30 hours in total. In more remote provinces, it took several days to restore power.

Maria Caridad Alvarez, a 62-year-old housewife, said: 'This morning when I woke up, the power was back, so I cooked some beans. Now I’ve come back from going out, and the power is out again. It feels like this will never be resolved. I have nothing more to say.'

Residents in areas most severely affected by the blackout have begun expressing their frustration by burning garbage piles and banging pots and pans together. (Translation: Chang Cheng-chien) 1150715

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