A complete blackout struck Cuba on Friday for the second time this week, as the country of approximately 10 million people faces a collapse of its power grid and a severe fuel shortage caused by the strict embargo the United States imposes on its energy sector.
While total power outages have become increasingly common in Cuba, two consecutive blackouts occurring just days apart is considered unusual. The national electricity company confirmed the outage via the platform X.
Cuban authorities said the blackout was caused by "fluctuations in operational parameters" following a technical fault on a line linking the provinces of Santa Clara and Sancti Spíritus.
Cuba's electricity grid suffers from extreme fragility, owing to a lack of maintenance of its ageing infrastructure — with some power stations more than 30 years old — as well as a severe shortage of the fuel on which the grid depends to operate.