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Cuban officials reported an island-wide blackout on Monday as power and economic crises escalated in the country of about 11 million people.
Cuba blamed its woes on the US energy blockade after President Donald Trump warned in January of tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to it.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines in X commented on the “complete disconnection” of the country’s electricity system and said it was investigating, noting that there was no failure in the units that were operating at the time of the power outage.
It was the third major blackout in Cuba in the past four months.
Tomás David Velázquez Felipe, a 61-year-old resident of Havana, said that the constant problems make him think that Cubans cannot pack up and leave the island. “This little we have will go to waste,” he said. “Our people are too old to continue suffering.”
NDP interim leader Don Davies and Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet both called on the Liberal government to immediately send aid to Cuba, where people are facing blackouts and shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Ben Rowswell, former Canadian ambassador to Venezuela, says that Canada must help Cuba in this crisis and support its sovereignty as a symbol of solidarity against American violence.
Cuba’s aging grid has eroded significantly in recent years, leading to an increase in daily outages and blackouts across the island.
But the government also blamed its woes on the US energy embargo after Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba.
The Trump administration wants Cuba to release political prisoners and move toward political and economic freedom in order to end the sanctions.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Friday that the island had not received oil shipments in more than three months and was running on solar power, natural gas and thermal power plants, and that the government had to postpone operations for tens of thousands of people.
Yaimisel Sánchez Peña, 48, said it saddens him that the food he buys with the money his son sends from the US continues to receive attention. He said these problems also affect his 72-year-old mother. “Every day, you suffer.”
Mercedes Velázquez, a 71-year-old Cuban citizen, complained about another power outage. “We are here waiting to see what happens,” he said. Velázquez added that he recently served the soup he made fresh rather than letting it spoil. “Everything is going wrong.”
A major outage over the past week has affected the west of the island, leaving millions without electricity. Another major blackout affected western Cuba in early December.
Crucial oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the United States invaded the South American country in early January and arrested its former president, Nicolas Maduro.
Although Cuba produces 40 percent of its fuel and produces its own energy, it has not been enough to meet demand as its power grid continues to deteriorate.
In February, Canada announced $8 million in aid to Cuba to “strengthen local food security and nutrition” amid the island’s energy and humanitarian crisis.
On Friday, Diaz-Canel confirmed that Cuba is holding talks with the US government as the crisis escalates.
