A complete islandwide blackout hit Cuba on Monday, July 6, 2026, as the country's fuel reserves continue to dwindle and its aging electrical grid crumbles under the strain. The state-run Electric Union reported the outage, affecting nearly 10 million people, and stated on X that the cause is under investigation. The Ministry of Energy and Mines also posted on X that protocols to restore electricity have been activated.
Fuel Crisis Deepens
Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January, when US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island, exacerbating the island's ongoing economic and financial crisis. Public transportation has largely been halted, and officials have canceled tens of thousands of surgeries. Cuba produces only 40 percent of the fuel it needs, while the 730,000 barrels of oil delivered by a Russian tanker in late March ran out by the end of April.
Impact on Daily Life
The outage sparked concern across Havana. Lina May, 36, wondered when the power would come back on so she could cook some rice. “I just told my dad that we have to buy charcoal because otherwise we won’t eat and we’ll starve,” she said. Richard Valdés, 40, described the blackout as the latest blow in a series of hardships. “We’re without power again,” he said. “Now we have no water, no gas, nothing until they restore it.”
Rationing and Previous Blackouts
The government has been rationing power with intentional outages that can stretch to more than 24 consecutive hours. A blackout in mid-May affected the island’s eastern provinces, while a blackout in mid-March struck the entire island. Mario Pedroso, a 33-year-old Havana resident, expressed resignation about Monday’s total blackout. “Oil hasn’t come in here for a while, and we have no way to solve the problem,” he said. “We have to resist, as we Cubans say. That’s all.”
