After a critical weekend, Cuba suffers a total blackout

After another weekend of unleashed blackouts, in which the impact once again exceeded 2,200 MW – and even set a new negative record on Friday with 2,221 – this Monday eleven thermal units woke up disconnected due to breakdowns or maintenance.

The UNE report indicates that the causes of this new disconnection are being investigated.

Cuba, mired in a severe economic crisis with shortages of food, medicine and rampant inflation, suffers from frequent partial blackouts. This Monday is the third general outage in the last six months, but the eighth since the end of 2024.

Since January, Washington has only allowed one Russian oil tanker to dock on the island, with 100,000 tons of oil.

The country’s electricity production depends mainly on seven obsolete thermal power plants, some of which have been in operation for more than 40 years and suffer frequent breakdowns or must stop for maintenance, as well as a network of backup generators powered by imported diesel.

To reduce its dependence on oil and overcome the energy crisis, the Cuban government has invested heavily in solar energywith the help of China, among others.

Between 2025 and early 2026, 56 photovoltaic solar parks were installed in Cuba, generating more than 1,000 MW, representing 10% of the country’s total electricity production.

At the end of 2024, this figure stood at 3%. Authorities hope to reach 15% by the end of 2026.

Cuba is immersed in a strong economic crisis with shortages of food, medicine and rampant inflation.

The blackouts have intensified since Donald Trump’s administration cut off oil shipments from Venezuela, the island’s main supplier, and threatened sanctions on other countries that sell it fuel.

A young 24-year-old programmer who works for a private software development company in Old Havana was returning home frustrated.

“There is no wifi, there is no electricity, we can’t work,” the young man, who preferred not to reveal his identity, explained to AFP.

The Republican magnate considers that the island, located 150 kilometers from the coast of Florida, represents “an extraordinary threat” to the national security of the United States and has threatened on several occasions to take control of it.

Under pressure, Havana adopted an unprecedented package of measures in mid-June in favor of the market economy, which represents a significant shock to the island’s model since the adoption of communism almost 70 years ago.

Cuba requested for Tuesday a special session of the General Assembly, the main representative body of the United Nations, to address the issue of US sanctions.

In this context, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stated this Monday that Washington seeks to prevent the Assembly from ruling on the impact of the oil blockade and other US sanctions imposed on the island.

To open the debate in the Assembly a vote by member states is required.

“The US government is trying to prevent the UN General Assembly from speaking out. It puts pressure on governments and seeks to coerce the sovereign will of the member states,” Rodríguez, who will participate in Tuesday’s session at the UN headquarters in New York, said in X.

The initiative is added to the annual debate that the UN General Assembly holds for 34 years about the US embargo on Cuba.

In 2025, the resolution in favor of its lifting obtained 165 votes, seven against and 12 abstentions, its lowest support in ten years.