Cuba Experiences Its Second Nationwide Blackout In Five Days
- 11.07.2026, 10:12
The island's power grid went completely offline.
For the second time in five days, Cuba experienced a nationwide power outage. The state-owned power company UNE (Unión Eléctrica UNE) reported on Friday, July 10, reported on Facebook that a “complete outage of the National Power System” was recorded at 4:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. in Minsk), according to "Deutsche Welle".
The company later clarified that at 3:55 p.m. (9:55 p.m. in Minsk), a failure occurred on the 220-kV line connecting Santa Clara and Sancti Spiritus. This led to a failure in the National Power Grid, the shutdown of several thermal power units, and fluctuations in the parameters of the low-voltage grids. Taken together, this chain of events led to a complete power outage, the UNE added.
This is already the fourth blackout since the beginning of 2026, the AFP news agency noted.
Cuba had been experiencing power supply difficulties even before U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an oil embargo against Havana in January. The restrictions have exacerbated the shortage of fuel for power plants. In addition, the Cuban power grid regularly experiences outages due to outdated equipment.
Cuban President: The U.S. Wants to Provoke a Social Uprising
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel sharply criticized U.S. sanctions policy. He accused Washington of seeking to “provoke a social uprising” and “starve the country.” According to the head of state, the blockade in effect since January amounts to “genocide.”
Prior to this, Cuba’s power grid completely shut down on July 6. The country is able to independently supply only about 40% of its fuel needs. Starting in January 2026, the U.S. authorized the delivery of oil to the island from only one Russian tanker at the end of March; however, those 730,000 barrels had already been completely used up by May.
As noted by Bloomberg, the U.S. embargo has significantly exacerbated chronic power outages in Cuba, which is home to about 10 million people. In May, Cuban authorities announced that they had completely exhausted their fuel reserves.
Trump Wants to Bring About Regime Change in Cuba
In recent months, Cubans have repeatedly faced widespread power outages. In mid-March, the entire country was without power for several hours, and in May, a similar situation occurred in the eastern provinces. In addition, to conserve electricity, authorities regularly carry out planned blackouts that can last up to 24 hours, Bloomberg noted.
In an effort to find a way out of this protracted crisis, Cuban authorities have launched sweeping reforms, including the largest partial privatization of the economy in the past 65 years. In June 2026, the country’s leadership proposed nearly 200 market reforms in the hope of securing the lifting of Washington’s fuel embargo.
However, negotiations between Cuba and the U.S. have reached an impasse. As Bloomberg notes, Donald Trump hopes to use economic and political pressure to bring about a change in power in Cuba and usher in a government more loyal to the United States.