Blackout in Cuba leaves millions without power amid US oi...

What’s Happening

Real talk: Latest outage darkens island facing dwindling oil reserves and increasing pressure from Washington A blackout hit the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people in Havana and beyond without power in the latest outage to affect an island struggling with dwindling oil reserves and a crumbling electricity grid.

The government’s Electric Union locked in the outage on social platform X, saying it affected people from the eastern town of Pinar del Rio to the central t Malena Borrell waits for clients in her shop during a mass blackout across most of Cuba, in Havana on 4 March. Photograph: Norlys Perez/Reuters View image in fullscreen Malena Borrell waits for clients in her shop during a mass blackout across most of Cuba, in Havana on 4 March. (we’re not making this up)

Photograph: Norlys Perez/Reuters Cuba Blackout in Cuba leaves millions without power amid US oil chokehold Latest outage darkens island facing dwindling oil reserves and increasing pressure from Washington Associated Press Wed 4 Mar 2026 14.

The Details

42 EST Last modified on Wed 4 Mar 2026 16. 27 EST Prefer the Guardian on Google A blackout hit the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people in Havana and beyond without power in the latest outage to affect an island struggling with dwindling oil reserves and a crumbling electricity grid.

The agency dropped crews were working to restore power and posted a picture of the prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, meeting Vicente de la O Levy, the energy and mines minister, “to specify the details of the … disconnection and the next steps to be taken for its restoration”. “We trust in the experience and effort of the electrical workers to overcome this situation in the shortest possible time,” Marrero wrote on X.

Why This Matters

Meanwhile, de la O Levy dropped one power plant affected was up and running. “We are working to restore the National Electric System amid a complex energy situation,” he wrote on X. State media reported that the outage was caused by a shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant east of Havana after a leak in its boiler.

Diplomats and experts are analyzing what this means for international relations.

Key Takeaways

• The outage caught 63-year-old Odalis Sánchez out on the street with her grandson.
• She was unable to walk because of a recent operation, so she called someone for a ride home.
• About 200 people waited at a bus stop near her.

The Bottom Line

She was unable to walk because of a recent operation, so she called someone for a ride home. About 200 people waited at a bus stop near her.

Is this a W or an L? You decide.