Cuba blames the U.S. trade embargo and stiff sanctions implemented by the Trump administration for difficulties in maintaining its electrical grid and acquiring fuel and spare parts, a situation many on the island feel will only get worse.
Only six of the country’s 15 oil-fired power plants are in operation, according to government reports, and a dire fuel shortage has made it impossible to run smaller clusters of diesel-fired generators that typically back up the system.
Residents across the capital Havana, typically protected by the government from the worst of the blackouts, reported outages ranging from six to 10 hours this week.
Dwindling oil imports from Venezuela, Russia and Mexico last year pushed the island’s obsolete and struggling oil-fired power plants into full crisis.
Upwards of one million Cubans have left the island since the COVID-19 pandemic, pressured by fast-deteriorating conditions.
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