Cuba was thrown into darkness Monday after a nationwide power failure hit the island, underscoring the escalating energy emergency battering the country’s already weakened electrical network.
The blackout disrupted service for about 10 million residents before crews managed to bring limited power back to parts of the country.
“A total disconnection of the National Electric Power System is occurring,” Cuba’s state-run Electric Union said Monday morning. “The causes are being investigated.”
Cuba has endured more frequent and prolonged outages in recent years while grappling with persistent fuel shortages and an aging power grid. The situation intensified after President Donald Trump introduced new sanctions in January and warned of tariffs against nations supplying oil to the island.
People walk along a street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, on Monday, July 6, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa)
As the outage unfolded Monday, much of the public transportation system came to a standstill, while officials said tens of thousands of surgeries were called off across the country, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Officials later reported that one generating unit was back online about two hours after the grid failure.
“Microsystems are already operational throughout the country, to ensure protection for vital services,” the Electric Union said.
A child walks with a bottle of oil past a solar panel set up on the street to charge batteries during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa)
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The energy minister said officials were working to restore power while accusing the U.S. of contributing to Cuba’s energy struggles.
“Vital services continue to be protected, amidst this complex situation exacerbated by the energy blockade we face,” Vicente de la O Levy said.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel also blamed U.S. policies, describing the energy blockade as a “genocidal” measure imposed by Washington.
“While the U.S. tries to induce a social explosion through asphyxiation by blocking fuel access to #Cuba, the UNE mobilizes to reverse the SEN outage,” Díaz-Canel said, referring to Cuba’s National Electric Power System.
“What the electrical workers are doing in the midst of a genocidal energy blockade is heroic.”
A woman with her son signals a car on a dark street during a blackout in Bauta municipality, Artemisa province, Cuba, on March 18, 2024. (YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
Cuba’s energy crisis intensified earlier this year after a U.S. military operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and halted Venezuelan oil exports, cutting off a key source of fuel for the island.
While Cuba produces only about 40% of the fuel it needs, a Russian tanker delivered roughly 730,000 barrels of oil to the country in March, supplies that were depleted by the end of April, according to The AP.
To conserve fuel, the Cuban government has imposed scheduled power outages that have lasted more than 24 consecutive hours in some areas, the outlet said.
A blackout in early March affected Cuba’s western provinces, while a separate outage in mid-March plunged the entire island into darkness.
