Cuba on Monday suffered its third nationwide power outage since the start of the year, sparking despair from a power outage caused by the US oil embargo.
The communist island was already struggling to keep the lights on before US President Donald Trump cut off its oil supply in January, reducing the supply of fuel to its power plants.
Union Electrica (UNE), the state electricity company, announced a “total blackout” of the entire island in the afternoon, leaving the communist country’s 9.6 million residents without power without giving a reason.
It marks the eighth blackout on the island since late 2024.
The lack of fuel “undoubtedly complicates the recovery process,” Lazaro Guerra, director of electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said on national television late Monday without giving a timetable for the recovery.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel directly blamed the US policy of sanctions against the island.
