HAVANA, Cuba — For the second time in less than a week, a complete power outage engulfed the entire island of Cuba on Saturday evening, according to an official statement from the nation’s energy ministry. The blackout commenced shortly before 6:30 pm local time (2230 GMT), with buildings across the capital of Havana progressively losing electricity as night fell.
The Energy Ministry confirmed the incident on social media platform X, characterizing it as a ‘total disconnection’ of the national electricity system and announcing that restoration efforts were immediately initiated. This latest infrastructure failure compounds an already severe energy crisis, where daily power interruptions lasting up to 20 hours have become routine in many regions due to critical fuel shortages.
This energy collapse coincides with the arrival of international humanitarian aid, including essential medical supplies, food, water, and solar panel equipment. The crisis has been dramatically exacerbated by a de facto oil embargo enforced by the United States, which has halted all oil imports to the island since January 9th. This blockade has not only crippled power generation but also forced airlines to reduce flights, dealing a significant blow to Cuba’s vital tourism industry.
The current administration of President Donald Trump has openly expressed intentions toward regime change in Cuba, with the President recently stating his belief that the nation is ‘very weakened’ and that he could ‘do anything’ with it. In response, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel issued a warning that any external aggression would be met with ‘unbreakable resistance.’
Meanwhile, frustrations among Cuba’s 9.6 million citizens are mounting due to the persistent blackouts and chronic shortages of basic necessities. These tensions recently manifested in acts of vandalism against a provincial office of the Cuban Communist Party. As the situation grows increasingly dire, maritime tracking services have reported two Russian tankers potentially carrying oil and diesel en route to Cuba, though their exact status and cargo remain unconfirmed.