Cuba hit with nationwide blackout as US pressure continues

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Why has Cuba's power grid collapsed again and is the US blockade to blame?

Total grid collapse strikes as fuel shortages deepen; Díaz-Canel accuses Washington of trying to force a "social explosion".

3 min readJul 7, 2026 06:05 AM IST

First published on: Jul 7, 2026 at 05:27 AM IST

Children run past a pile of trash accumulated on a street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba. (Photo: AP)

Cuba suffered a nationwide blackout on Monday as it faces an ongoing energy crisis, worsened by an effective US blockade on fuel shipments, CNN reported.

The country’s energy ministry said the national electrical grid had suffered a total collapse. The grid operator said it is investigating the cause. Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said officials were working to restore power and had already activated emergency “microsystems” that keep vital services running.

Why does this keep happening?

Cuba has experienced several nationwide blackouts over the past few years, as the country’s aging electricity infrastructure struggles to meet demand. The crisis worsened this year after the US forced Cuba’s main suppliers to halt oil shipments in March alone, the island suffered at least two total blackouts within a single week.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel took to X on Monday, accusing the US of deliberately blocking fuel imports to provoke unrest.

Mientras EE.UU trata de inducir un estallido social por asfixia, al bloquear los accesos de combustible a #Cuba, la UNE se moviliza para revertir la caída del SEN.

Es heroico lo que hacen los trabajadores eléctricos en medio de un bloqueo energético genocida. #CubaNoSeRinde https://t.co/hihOXwqLoj

— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) July 6, 2026

How badly has the crisis hit Cubans?

The island’s energy crunch has hit education, transportation, and medicine hard. Fresh US sanctions have further battered the Cuban economy and kept many tourists away. Washington maintains its pressure campaign is meant to force Cuba’s government to open its economy and allow direct foreign investment.

Last month, Cuba’s National Assembly approved a broad set of economic reforms. The country’s foreign trade minister said the measures weren’t a response to external pressure but a US State Department spokesperson dismissed them as “modest, long overdue and ultimately superficial smoke signals.”

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Are the US and Cuba still talking?

Despite the standoff, US and Cuban officials have held multiple talks in recent weeks. CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Cuba’s spy chiefs in Havana in May, while the commander of US Southern Command met senior Cuban military officials near Naval Station Guantanamo Bay.

The US has accused Cuban officials of hosting Russian and Chinese listening posts on the island. Cuba denies this and has pushed back firmly.

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