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- October 20, 202620°
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- INTEREST37.00%-1.00
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- October 20, 202620°
Second island-wide blackout in a week hits Cuba under Trump's fuel blockade
Cuba faced a nationwide blackout for the second time in a week due to fuel restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The event, the fourth major blackout of the year, deepened the island's energy crisis.
Cuba suffered a nationwide blackout for the second time in less than a week under the shadow of the tightened US fuel blockade. The state electricity company Unión Eléctrica announced that the outage, which began at 4:30 p.m. local time on Friday, affected the entire island.
This was the fourth major blackout recorded since the start of the year. A similar island-wide power outage occurred on Monday, and two large blackouts took place in March.
US blockade deepens energy crisis
Cuba's frequent blackouts have worsened since US President Donald Trump effectively cut off fuel supplies to the island in January. The Trump administration took steps aimed at regime change on the communist-ruled island.
On January 3, Trump approved a military operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. After Maduro was abducted, taken to New York, and arrested on drug and weapons charges, Trump announced that Venezuela would no longer send oil and money to Cuba.
In a presidential decree issued on January 29, Trump described Cuba as 'an unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States' and threatened countries supplying fuel to the island with high tariffs. After that date, only one Russian oil tanker was able to reach Cuba, and that was in March.
UN: Infant mortality nearly doubles
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, in a statement in June, drew attention to the humanitarian impact of the fuel restrictions. Türk noted that infant mortality rates had nearly doubled in recent months, saying, 'The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and the tightening of extraterritorial sanctions are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable.'
According to International Energy Agency data, as of 2023 Cuba could produce only 40 percent of the oil it uses. Experts warn that fuel shortages will bring public services such as transportation to a standstill, adversely affecting the civilian population.
US: Blame lies with Cuban government
The Trump administration, however, blames the Cuban government's mismanagement for the blackouts. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed in a statement in March, 'We have done nothing punitive against the Cuban regime.'
Renewable energy target under strain
Before the blockade, Cuba had planned to shift part of its energy infrastructure from fossil fuels to solar and other renewable sources. It accelerated this transition with solar technology imported from China, the United States' main economic rival.
However, according to 2022 estimates, renewable energy meets only about 18 percent of Cuba's total energy consumption. The island aims to generate about a quarter of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.
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