Cuba begins restoring power after energy grid collapses in nationwide blackout

Officials in Cuba reported an island-wide blackout Monday in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen. Cuba has blamed its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after President Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to it.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines on X noted a “complete disconnection” of the country’s electrical system and said it was investigating. The ministry later said some “microsystems” were beginning to operate in various territories but did not go into further details.

It was the third major blackout in Cuba over the past four months. The cause was still unknown as of Monday night, Cuban state media said. 

President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday said the island had not received oil shipments in more than three months and was operating on solar power, natural gas and thermoelectric plants, and the government has had to postpone surgeries for tens of thousands of people.

A massive outage over a week ago affected the island’s west, leaving millions without power. In 2025, almost exactly a year ago, the country suffered a massive outage in western Cuba. 

Cuba has relied heavily on foreign assistance and oil shipments from allies like Mexico, Russia and Venezuela. But critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country in early January and arrested its then-president, Nicolás Maduro.

While Cuba produces 40% of its petroleum and has been generating its own power, it hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand as its electric grid continues to crumble.

William LeoGrande, a professor at American University who has tracked Cuba for years, said the country’s energy grid hasn’t been maintained properly and its infrastructure is “way past its normal useful life.”

“The technicians working on the grid are magicians to keep it running at all given the shape that it’s in,” LeoGrande said.

LeoGrande said that if the island drastically reduces consumption and expands renewables, it can struggle along for a while without oil shipments. “But it would be constant misery for the general population, and eventually, the economy could collapse just completely and then you would have social chaos and probably mass migration,” he said.

In recent days, videos circulating on social media have shown residents in Havana and other cities banging pots and pans in protest, CBS News Miami reported. The traditional form of public dissent known as a “cacerolazo” reflects growing frustration as the country struggles with electricity outages, food shortages, and deteriorating living conditions.

Blackouts have previously prompted anti-government demonstrations in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

Tomás David Velázquez Felipe, a 61-year-old resident of Havana, said the relentless outages make him think that Cubans who can should just pack up and leave the island. “What little we have to eat spoils,” he said. “Our people are too old to keep suffering.”

On Friday, Díaz-Canel confirmed that Cuba was holding talks with the U.S. government as the problems continue to deepen.

Earlier this year, a U.S. official told CBS News the Trump administration does not seek to trigger a collapse of the Cuban government, but rather to negotiate with Havana to transition away from its authoritarian communist system.