Cuba's Power System Collapses Amid US Embargo and Aging Infrastructure

Cuba's state-owned grid operator said the island's power system collapsed late on Sunday, the latest in a series of rolling power cuts caused by aging infrastructure and a US energy embargo.

The outage comes on the heels of three nationwide power outages last month.

The state-run utility UNE said there was a "total disconnection" of the national electricity system, which means the entire country of 10 million people, including the capital, Havana, has been plunged into darkness.

The Ministry of Energy said that protocols to reactivate the grid were underway.

The series of outages afflicting the island in recent times have also affected water supplies and cooling systems, making normal life extremely difficult.

Cuba, which relies largely on aging oil-fired power plants, lost access to fuel from its previous primary supplier, Venezuela, after US President Donald Trump imposed an oil blockade following Washington's ouster and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

Imports from Mexico, which subsequently became Cuba's key supplier of oil, have also ceased under US pressure.

Supplies brought by a single Russian tanker in March with Washington's authorization have been exhausted.

Cuba has also been under a broader US embargo for decades.

Cuba is also facing other pressure from the US, including ramped-up sanctions against Cuban state-owned businesses imposed by the Trump administration.

These have led to a number of foreign companies suspending their operations in the island.

Washington has also indicted former President Raul Castro over the downing of two civilian planes 30 years ago, in which three US citizens and a US resident died.

The US redesignated the communist island as a "state sponsor of terrorism" for a third time in 2025, shortly after former President Joe Biden moved to have it deleted from the list.

Trump has even made scarcely veiled threats to take over the island.