Story perspectives

Cuba Endures Sixth Nationwide Blackout, Tourism Hits

8/4/2026

Summary

Story summary

The electricity grid collapsed late on August 2, plunging Cuba’s 10-million-person island into a nationwide blackout.
It was the sixth islandwide outage since the U.S. oil blockade began in January and the fourth in a month.
More than 70 percent of hotels are closed, endangering over 25,000 tourism-related jobs.
Rolling blackouts last more than 20 hours daily and force residents to cook and cool in darkness while temperatures hit 93 °F feeling like 106 °F.

History

Historical Context

The 2024 Cuban blackouts echo the 1991 Special Period that began when the Soviet Union collapsed, slashing oil imports and crippling the power system. Today, failures at the Antonio Guiteras plant removed 1.64 GW—half national demand—while First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel blames the U.S. embargo and dwindling Venezuelan fuel shipments for the crisis.

1 of 2

Story summary

The electricity grid collapsed late on August 2, plunging Cuba’s 10-million-person island into a nationwide blackout.
It was the sixth islandwide outage since the U.S. oil blockade began in January and the fourth in a month.
More than 70 percent of hotels are closed, endangering over 25,000 tourism-related jobs.
Rolling blackouts last more than 20 hours daily and force residents to cook and cool in darkness while temperatures hit 93 °F feeling like 106 °F.

1 / 2