Cuba blackout: Second island‑wide outage hits as Trump‑imposed fuel blockade strains grid

Cuba blackout sparks urgent calls for energy relief

The Cuba blackout that plunged the capital and tourist hubs into darkness on Thursday marks the second island‑wide failure in just seven days. Analysts link the outage to a de‑facto oil embargo imposed by President Donald Trump, which has choked fuel deliveries to the national power plant. According to Reuters, generation capacity fell by ↓ 15% compared with the same period last month.

“Our grid cannot sustain prolonged shortages,” warned a senior Cuban energy official.

The strain comes as the island still recovers from the pandemic economic shock, and tourism revenue remains below pre‑COVID levels. Bloomberg notes that the fuel blockade could cost Cuba ↓ $200 million in lost electricity sales this quarter. Pressure is mounting on Washington to lift restrictions before the next scheduled maintenance window, slated for early August.

Analysis by Tariq Al-Fayed (Middle East Geopolitical Strategist).