Cuba Hit With Seventh Major Blackout

Cuba has suffered its seventh major blackout of the year, deepening the island’s power crisis following severe fuel shortages.

According to AFP, the Energy Ministry announced the nationwide blackout on Friday.

It said the electrical system had experienced a “total disconnection of the electrical system”.

The ministry did not give a specific cause.

However, state-run utility UNE said the outage followed a failure “in the transmission lines” and “unstable weather conditions”.

The blackout is the 12th nationwide power failure since late 2024.

Cuba’s ageing power plants have struggled to meet demand, causing regular electricity cuts across the island.

The crisis has worsened since January, when Washington imposed what Havana describes as a de facto energy blockade.

Fuel shortages have made it harder to supply power plants and backup generators.

Most of the generators rely on imported diesel.

Residents are now facing long blackouts, water shortages and disruptions to mobile phone services.

In Havana, recent outages have lasted more than 30 hours.

In some provinces, power cuts have lasted more than 60 hours.

The prolonged outages have also affected Cuba’s water supply and mobile phone networks.

Living conditions have become increasingly difficult for residents across the island.

Havana has blamed the crisis on US sanctions and other punitive measures.

Washington, however, has blamed Cuba’s economic hardship on poor internal management.