Cuba has not received oil shipments since early January amid US pressure, as the humanitarian crisis on the island worsens.
Published on 16 March 2026
Cuba’s national power grid has collapsed amid an oil embargo imposed by the United States on the island nation.
Monday’s outage left about 10 million without power across the entire country, according to the Union Nacional Electrica de Cuba (UNE). The state-owned company said it was working to restore power flow.
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It added that it was investigating what caused the “total shutdown of the national grid”.
Cuba has not imported any oil since January 9 amid a campaign of pressure from the US.
Following the US military kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the government of Venezuela’s interim leader, Delsy Rodríguez, agreed to curb oil shipments to Cuba.
US President Donald Trump subsequently threatened to impose sanctions on other countries, particularly Mexico, if they delivered fuel to the island, which is largely dependent on oil imports.
His administration has openly said it wants regime change in communist-led Cuba, which was under a US trade embargo for decades before the latest moves.
Cuba has received only two small vessels carrying oil imports this year, Reuters news agency reported, citing SEG ship-tracking data.
Earlier this month, two-thirds of the country went dark for a day, mainly in the center and west, after a blackout at the island’s largest Antonio Guiteras power plant.
The U.S. actions have further exacerbated Cuba’s years-long economic woes, fueling a humanitarian crisis amid widespread shortages of fuel, food and medicine.
The conditions have sparked rare public unrest on the island, with protesters burning a Communist Party office over the weekend. Rights groups have warned against any US efforts to mobilize dissent by worsening living conditions for residents.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirmed last week that his government had held talks with the Trump administration.
Trump, who has previously suggested a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, said Sunday that Cuba “wants to make a deal.”
His top officials, meanwhile, have vowed that the US will continue to take a military approach to Latin America even as the US battles Iran alongside Israel.
“I think we’re going to make a deal soon or we’re going to do whatever we have to do,” Trump said.
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