Nationwide blackout hits Cuba for second time in a week
Will he grant,BBC Correspondent in Mexico, Central America and CubaAnd
Harry Sekulich
More than 10 million people saw their homes and businesses without power across Cuba after the country’s national power grid collapsed for the second time in a week.
Cuba’s Energy Ministry said “a total disconnection of the national electricity system has occurred,” in a statement posted on social media. “Restoration protocols are already beginning to be implemented.”
Cuban grid operator UNE said it was gradually recovering electricity, prioritizing “vital” centers, including hospitals and water systems.
The Caribbean country has suffered three major outages this month as the US fuel blockade halted imports of foreign oil needed to operate power plants.
The communist-ruled country suffers from an aging electricity infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages.
A coalition of international socialist groups arrived in Havana this weekend to show support for the Cuban government, bringing with them aid donations of solar panels, basic food kits and medicine.
The “Nuestra America” convoy, a humanitarian flotilla leaving Mexico, was delayed due to rough sea conditions, but is expected to arrive at the port of Havana on Monday.
Rare public dissent sparked by the recent crisis and nationwide power outages saw residents banging pots and pans in central Havana on Monday. The same day, protesters in the central Cuban town of Morón also attacked and burned the Communist Party headquarters.
Unauthorized protests are illegal in Cuba and those who defy the ban risk imprisonment.
Since US soldiers captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, Donald Trump has been asked several times about similar plans for Cuba.
President Trump reportedly wants the departure of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, a regional ally of Venezuela, as a condition for lifting the fuel embargo.
Last week, Trump suggested there could be a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, later emphasizing that it would be an “honor.”
Speaking to activists delivering humanitarian supplies this weekend, the Cuban president said the island had a “preparedness plan to increase the defense readiness of our people” against any U.S. military aggression.
The U.S. and Cuban governments have conducted early phases of bilateral negotiations aimed at ending the crisis, Díaz-Canel confirmed, although it is unclear how they are progressing.
On Friday, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossio insisted that Cuba’s “political system is not subject to negotiation and, of course, neither the president nor the position of any official in Cuba is subject to negotiation with the United States,” Reuters reported.