New nationwide blackout leaves Cuba in the dark amid a growing public outcry: How much longer?'

"It was only a matter of time before Cuba would be completely in the dark. Like a dying man, the country began shutting down over the weekend: first, the eastern provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantanamo were plunged into blackouts. Power outages were also reported in Matanzas and Havana. And on Wednesday, news emerged about the collapse of the national energy system."

"Despite the almost daily power outages, some lasting up to 18 hours, and the constant failures of the Antonio Guiteras thermal power stationwhich has become a laughingstock due to its frequent breakdownsit can hardly be said that Cubans are accustomed to spending many hours without electricity. Although this is a situation that the island's inhabitants have experienced since the early 1990s, it has gotten worse in recent years."

"Few things arouse the population's anger as much as a blackout, because it brings stifling heat, mosquitoes, food that begins to spoil, no gas for cooking, a dwindling water supply, and children struggling to get to school. So when the Cuban Electricity Union (UNE) confirmed that, the grid had completely failed at 9:14 a.m. on Wednesday, the situation had already exhausted Cubans' patience."

A national collapse of Cuba's energy system caused widespread blackouts across multiple provinces, including Havana, Matanzas and eastern provinces such as Las Tunas, Granma, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo. The outage follows repeated daily power failures, some lasting up to 18 hours, and recurrent breakdowns at the Antonio Guiteras thermal power station. The blackout represents the fifth major collapse since October 18, 2024, and has exacerbated long-standing electricity shortages that have worsened since the 1990s. The outages produce heat, mosquitoes, food spoilage, reduced cooking gas and water supply, disrupted schooling, and heightened public anger. The Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines indicated that causes were under investigation.

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