Story perspectives

Cuba Faces Third Power Outage This Month Amid Fuel Shortages

3/22/2026

Summary

Story summary

Cuba's power grid collapsed for the third time this month, leaving the country without electricity.
The Cuban Electric Union attributed the blackout to an unexpected failure at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant.
Outages stem from aging infrastructure and fuel shortages, with daily blackouts lasting up to 12 hours and the government blaming the U.S. oil blockade.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Cuba has not received oil from foreign suppliers for three months.

History

Historical Context

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 plunged Cuba into an economic crisis, with oil imports dropping by 90% and leading to severe shortages during the Special Period. Today, Cuba faces similar challenges as President Miguel Díaz-Canel cites a three-month halt in foreign oil supplies due to the U.S. blockade, exacerbating energy insecurity and infrastructure decay that threaten the nation's stability.

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Story summary

Cuba's power grid collapsed for the third time this month, leaving the country without electricity.
The Cuban Electric Union attributed the blackout to an unexpected failure at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant.
Outages stem from aging infrastructure and fuel shortages, with daily blackouts lasting up to 12 hours and the government blaming the U.S. oil blockade.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Cuba has not received oil from foreign suppliers for three months.

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