Cuba suffers third nationwide power blackout in six months, sparking protests

Jul 6, 2026

Cuba suffered its third nationwide power blackout of 2026 on July 6, leaving nearly 10 million people without electricity. The collapse of the dilapidated grid has been exacerbated by a U.S. fuel blockade imposed by President Donald Trump in January, which has choked off oil imports and triggered a severe humanitarian crisis. While President Miguel Díaz-Canel blamed U.S. strangulation and urged angry pot-banging protesters to blame Washington, the U.S. demanded deep political reforms as private bilateral talks remain stalled.

Cuba nationwide power blackout

▪The July 6, 2026 blackout represents the third nationwide power outage in Cuba in 2026 and the eighth since late 2024.
▪Cuba suffered a nationwide power blackout on July 6, 2026, leaving the island's population of approximately 9.6 million to 10 million people without electricity.

U.S. fuel blockade

▪U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an oil blockade on Cuba in January 2026, cutting off fuel shipments from Venezuela and threatening tariffs on other nations providing oil to the island.
▪Since the U.S. fuel blockade began in January 2026, only one Russian oil tanker has been permitted by Washington to dock in Cuba.

Power restoration efforts

▪By late afternoon on July 6, 2026, Cuba's grid operator UNE was able to restore power to only 1% of the demand in the capital city of Havana.
▪Cuba restored electricity across approximately three-quarters of its territory more than 24 hours after the nationwide blackout occurred.

Cuban government response

▪Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel urged Cuban citizens to direct their anger and pot-banging protests toward the United States government rather than the Cuban administration.
▪Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the United States of attempting to incite social unrest by strangling Cuba's fuel supply through a genocidal energy blockade.

Humanitarian crisis conditions

▪The energy crisis has forced Cuba to implement rolling power cuts lasting over 30 hours at a stretch in parts of Havana and over 70 hours in some rural areas.
▪The fuel shortage has severely disrupted public transportation, halted tens of thousands of surgeries, and led to critical shortages of food, drinking water, and medicine.

U.S.-Cuba reform negotiations

▪The U.S. State Department dismissed Cuba's recently unveiled free-market reforms as superficial smoke signals, demanding more substantial economic and political changes.
▪Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stated that recent private talks between the United States and Cuba have shown no progress toward resolving the impasse.