Cuba's national electric grid has collapsed, leaving approximately 10 million people without power, the country's grid operator has said. The blackout is the latest in a series of widespread outages that have sparked violent protests, including a rare demonstration last weekend in the communist-run country.
The grid operator, UNE, said on Monday that it was investigating the cause of the collapse. The outages are attributed to a US-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the island's already obsolete generation system. The Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on Cuba since capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, cutting off Venezuelan oil shipments and threatening tariffs on any country that sells oil to Cuba.
According to LSEG ship-tracking data, Cuba has received only two small vessels carrying oil imports this year. A tanker from Mexico discharged fuel at Havana port in January, and a second from Jamaica delivered liquefied petroleum gas in February. Venezuela, once Cuba's main supplier, has sent no fuel this year.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he believed he would have the “honour of taking Cuba”, adding that the country is “a very weakened nation right now”. Cuba has said it is in talks with the US in the hope of defusing the crisis.
