The China Mail - Cuba slowly gets power back after latest blackout

The communist island was already struggling to keep the lights on before US President Donald Trump cut off its oil supplies in January, depleting the dwindling supply of fuel for its power plants.

The national power grid went offline at about 11:05 am (1505 GMT) on Tuesday, according to the state-run UNE electricity company, leaving the country's 9.6 million inhabitants without power.

Cubans began getting power back late Tuesday, but at around 10:45 pm (0245 GMT Wednesday) only 16 percent of households in Havana had electricity, the Cuban Electric Union (UNE) reported.

UNE said a problem with a generating unit at a thermoelectric plant caused a "sudden frequency change," resulting in the blackout.

It was the third complete blackout on the Caribbean island since early July and the fifth since the start of 2026.

"I have no words," Maria Caridad Alvarez, a 62-year-old housewife, told AFP. "When I woke up this morning, the power was back and I cooked some beans. Now, I went out and it's off again. It feels like there is no solution."

The energy crisis "is killing people's enthusiasm for life," she said.

David Matias Rodriguez, an 82-year-old retiree, said he was worried the few things in his refrigerator would be spoiled.

In both of last week's blackouts, it took more than 24 hours to restore power across the island of 9.6 million people, a process made slower and more complex by fuel shortages.

Power outages in the capital Havana totalled more than 30 hours at a time, while in the outlying provinces, it was several days before electricity was restored.

Residents in the worst affected areas have vented their frustrations by setting piles of trash on fire or banging on pots and pans.

- 'Living through a war' -

Cuba is reeling from its worst economic crisis in decades -- one made worse by the fuel blockade imposed by US President Donald Trump in January as part of a pressure campaign aimed at ending six decades of communist rule.

UNE says the fuel shortages have made the national grid more susceptible to outages, and made the use of emergency generators all but impossible.

"This situation is mainly due to the state of our electrical system, exacerbated by the decisions of the United States," Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy said Tuesday at a press conference.

"We are practically living through a war," he said, adding that there is a "total absence of fuel" and the government cannot obtain spare parts for its plants.

Relations between Washington and Havana have been tense since the start of the year, especially since US forces snatched Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from his home in early January and brought him to the US to face federal charges.

Maduro had long been a staunch ally of Cuba.

Washington has authorized the arrival of only one Russian tanker -- carrying 100,000 tons of crude -- which came in March. Those reserves have since been exhausted.

In addition to its oil blockade, the Trump administration has ramped up sanctions against Cuban state-owned businesses, prompting many foreign businesses to suspend operations in the country.

The United States has also indicted former president Raul Castro, brother of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, over the downing of two civilian planes three decades ago.

Late last month, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said "no progress" had been made in months of bilateral discussions.

A.Kwok--ThChM