Millions of Cubans remain without power after substation failure left the island in the dark
HAVANA (AP) — Millions of people in Cuba remained without power Saturday after a failure of the nation's electric grid left the island in the dark the previous night.
The massive blackout is the fourth in the last six months as a severe economic crisis plagues the Caribbean country. The Ministry of Energy and Mines, in a statement on social media, attributed the latest outage to a failure at a substation in the suburbs of Havana, the capital.
Lázaro Guerra, director of electricity at the ministry, said on national television that power was already being generated to support vital services such as hospitals.
A statement from the Cuban Electricity Union released Saturday said the strategy was to create 'microsystems' that will connect to each other to gradually restore electricity across the country. Several of these were already operating in the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago, Las Tunas and Pinar del Río.
Internet and telephone service were intermittent more than 12 hours after power went out around 8 p.m. local time Friday.
Cuba suffered similar blackouts in October, November and December. The latest was the first of 2025 but in mid-February authorities suspended classes and work activities for two days due to a shortage of electricity generation that exceeded 50% in the country.
Experts have said the electricity disruptions are a result of fuel shortages at power plants and aging infrastructure. Most plants have been in operation for more than 30 years.
The outages come as Cubans are experiencing a severe economic crisis that analysts have blamed on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a program of domestic measures that triggered inflation and, above all, the tightening of sanctions by the United States.
Many Cuban families use electric equipment to prepare their meals. The outage could cause food to thaw in refrigerators and possibly spoil due to the island's tropical climate.
'When I was about to start cooking and making some spaghetti, the power went out. 'And now what?' Cecilia Duquense, a 79-year-old housewife who lives in the working-class neighborhood of Central Havana, said Saturday.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


San Francisco Chronicle
10 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
AP PHOTOS: Trump's new travel ban takes effect, and some protest
President Donald Trump's ban on travel to the United States took effect Monday. Demonstrators outside Los Angeles International Airport held signs protesting the ban affecting citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries. At Miami International Airport, passengers moved steadily through an area for international arrivals. Tensions are escalating over the Trump administration's campaign of immigration enforcement. The new ban applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don't hold a valid visa. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Just Lost an Important Backer
The founder of Latinas for Trump is now denouncing President Trump. Florida State Senator Ileana Garcia, whose organization played a key role in expanding Trump's popularity among Latinos, thinks that the agenda that she rallied hundreds of people to vote for has gone too far in its indiscriminate crackdown on immigration. 'As the state senator who represents her district and the daughter of Cuban refugees, who are now just as American, if not more so than Stephen Miller, I am deeply disappointed by these actions. And I will not stand down,' Garcia wrote on X last weekend. 'I want to put myself on record: 'This is not what we voted for. I have always supported Trump, @realDonaldTrump, through thick and thin. However, this is unacceptable and inhumane. I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings—in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims—all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal. This undermines the sense of fairness and justice that the American people value.'' Florida congresswoman and Trump supporter María Elvira Salazar felt similarly. 'I am fully aware, and heartbroken, about the uncertainty now gripping Florida's 27th District because of the recent immigration actions of the Administration. Arrests in immigration courts, including people with I-220A and pending asylum cases, the termination of the CHNV program, which has left thousands exposed to deportation, and other similar measures, all jeopardize our duty to due process that every democracy must guarantee,' she wrote. 'I remain clear in my position: anyone with a pending asylum case, status-adjustment petition, or similar claim deserves to go through the legal process.' While Garcia and Salazar are certainly correct and courageous in their rebukes, this vicious immigration campaign does indeed seem to be what they voted for. Trump promised the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history, and he's trying his hardest to fulfill it, pushing to arrest 3,000 people a day. Now many of the Latinos who voted for him are recoiling at his agenda in action. Only time will tell how this development will impact both 2026 and the GOP's long-term dream of a robust multiracial conservative coalition.


Hamilton Spectator
14 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
AP PHOTOS: Trump's new travel ban takes effect, and some protest
President Donald Trump's ban on travel to the United States took effect Monday. Demonstrators outside Los Angeles International Airport held signs protesting the ban affecting citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries. At Miami International Airport, passengers moved steadily through an area for international arrivals. Tensions are escalating over the Trump administration's campaign of immigration enforcement. The new ban applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don't hold a valid visa. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .