Cuba sees nationwide power blackout for third time in six months

People in Cuba already faced an ongoing economic and humanitarian crisis, largely due to a US blockade.Cuba has suffered its third nationwide power blackout since the start of the year, as the country’s fuel reserves diminish and its electric grid crumbles due to an energy crisis precipitated by the US fuel blockade.The blackout in the country of nearly 10 million people was reported on Monday by the state-run Electric Union, which said that the cause is under investigation.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US Supreme Court OKs ExxonMobil lawsuit over Castro-era property seizurelist 2 of 4Which countries have pledged aid to Venezuela after powerful earthquakes?list 3 of 4Vance vs Rubio: Is Team Trump divided on Iran and Lebanon?list 4 of 4Cuba’s foreign minister observes ‘no progress’ in US negotiationsend of listCuba’s Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy said protocols were quickly activated to restore electricity throughout Cuba after the outage.“Vital services continue to be protected, amidst this complex situation exacerbated by the energy blockade we face,” he said.Grid operator UNE said it was providing electricity to some vital services, including hospitals and food production centres, but by late afternoon was able to serve only 1 percent of the capital, Havana’s, ⁠demand.Cuba was already struggling with fuel supplies before US President Donald Trump cut off oil deliveries from Venezuela to the island in January. But Trump’s actions, including threatening tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba, have made things significantly worse, and deepened the island’s financial crisis. As a result, blackouts and power cuts have accelerated.Since January, Washington has only allowed one oil tanker, from Russia, to pass its blockade and dock in Cuba, as part of a sanctions campaign aimed at ending more than six decades of communist government in Havana.Trump has pointed to the US abduction of Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, in January, and his replacement with a successor that can be pressured to work with the US, as a potential blueprint for Cuba.