Cuba blackout deprives millions of electricity as US oil embargo tightens

A power failure has struck the western portion of Cuba, leaving millions in Havana and surrounding areas without electricity in the newest interruption to affect an island grappling with shrinking oil stocks and mounting pressure from Washington.

Cuba has endured a succession of large‑scale blackouts in recent years, even before the United States halted oil deliveries to the Caribbean’s biggest nation. The Cuban authorities blame the nation’s economic woes on decades of U.S. sanctions.

A newer shortfall of oil from Venezuela and Mexico, prompted by U.S. pressure, has deepened the existing deficits.

The state utility UNE reported that crews are working to re‑establish supply and that the outage spans the country from the central province of Camagüey to Pinar del Río in the far west.

The Felton 1 thermoelectric plant in Holguín province, eastern Cuba, remains operational and recovery procedures have been set in motion, the energy ministry said.

It is the second such interruption to hit Cuba’s western zone within the last three months.

The reason for Wednesday’s blackout has not been immediately identified, but Cuba’s fragile and outdated power‑generation network has suffered a series of major breakdowns in recent years.

Extended rolling outages have become routine for months, with over half the nation experiencing cuts during peak periods.

Venezuela, Cuba’s principal oil supplier, has not dispatched shipments since December. Its leader, Nicolás Maduro, was seized in a U.S. strike on the capital in early January, after which the United States took control of the country’s oil exports.

Mexico announced it would suspend deliveries after the United States threatened tariffs on nations providing oil to Cuba.

The electricity shortages have forced the government to ration essential services.