HAVANA — Officials reported an island-wide blackout Monday in Cuba, affecting the nation of about 11 million as its energy and economic crises deepen and the power grid continues to crumble.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines said on X there was a “complete disconnection” of the electrical system and that an investigation was under way, noting there were no failures in the units that were operating when the grid collapsed. Lázaro Guerra, the ministry’s electricity director, told state media crews were trying to restart several thermoelectric plants, key to restoring power. “It must be done gradually to avoid setbacks,” he said. “Because systems, when very weak, are more susceptible to failure.”
It was the third major blackout in Cuba over the past four months. By Monday night state media reported power had been restored to about 5% of Havana residents — roughly 42,000 customers — and to several hospitals. Officials said they would prioritize the communications sector next, while warning that the small circuits restored so far could fail again.
Residents described the toll. Tomás David Velázquez Felipe, 61, said the relentless outages make him think Cubans who can should leave the island: “What little we have to eat spoils,” he said. “Our people are too old to keep suffering.” Yaimisel Sánchez Peña, 48, said food sent by her son in the U.S. keeps spoiling and that the outages also hurt her 72-year-old mother: “Every day, she suffers.” Mercedes Velázquez, 71, said she recently gave away part of a soup while it was still fresh to avoid throwing it out. “Everything goes bad,” she said.
The government and analysts point to a collapsing, aging grid that has not been properly maintained. William LeoGrande, a professor at American University who has tracked Cuba for years, said the grid is “way past its normal useful life” and that technicians are “magicians to keep it running at all given the shape that it’s in.” He warned that without major changes — drastic consumption cuts and a rapid expansion of renewables — the island could face sustained misery, economic collapse, social chaos and likely mass migration. To scale up solar faster would require major equipment shipments from countries such as China, he added.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday the island had not received oil shipments in three months and that Cuba was operating on solar power, natural gas and thermoelectric plants. He said the government has had to postpone tens of thousands of surgeries. Cuba produces about 40% of its petroleum but that has not been sufficient to meet demand as the grid deteriorates. Thermoelectric plants also have been using heavy oil whose sulfur content is corroding equipment.
The Cuban government has blamed part of its troubles on what it calls a U.S. energy blockade after President Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba and demanded political concessions, including the release of political prisoners and moves toward liberalization, in exchange for lifting sanctions. Trump has also said he desires regime change, and on Monday said he believes he’ll have the “honor of taking Cuba.” “I mean, whether I free it, take it. I think I could do anything I want with it,” he said, calling Cuba a “very weakened nation.”
The Trump administration is pressing for Díaz-Canel to leave power as it continues negotiations with Havana about the island’s future, U.S. and Cuba sources said, describing sensitive talks in which the administration’s desire for the Cuban president to step down was confirmed. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity and offered no detail about potential successors. The Cuban president publicly confirmed for the first time that his government has held talks with the U.S.
Recent major outages in western Cuba — including a massive outage over a week ago and another in early December — have compounded the crisis. Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S. struck that country in early January and arrested its then-president, Nicolás Maduro, cutting a key energy supply line to the island.
LeoGrande said Cuba also lacks the hard currency needed to import spare parts or upgrade plants and the grid itself, creating “a perfect storm of collapse.”
On Monday, Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, deputy prime minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, told reporters Cuba is open to trading with U.S. companies while noting limitations from the embargo. He outlined new measures intended to boost the economy, including allowing Cubans residing abroad to be partners or owners of private companies and to participate in large-scale projects, including infrastructure. Those Cubans would be permitted to partner with private Cuban companies and establish ties with both state-owned and private entities. The government also plans to grant land under usufruct for certain projects and allow Cubans abroad to open foreign-currency accounts in Cuban banks to facilitate transactions.
