A woman dances as she waits with a group to enter a charity centre to eat a meal, during a blackout in Havana, on March 17, 2026
| Photo Credit: AP
Cuba was gradually restoring power Tuesday (March 17, 2026) after a nationwide blackout, the latest setback amid an oil blockade imposed by Washington in an effort to pressure the communist authorities.
The government did not specify what caused the latest of Cuba’s frequent power outages, but said that as of Tuesday (March 17, 2026) morning two-thirds of the country had electricity again.
In Havana, which is home to 1.7 million people, some neighborhoods had power.
“What we fear all the time is that the blackout will drag on and we will lose the little bit that we have in the fridge, because everything is so expensive,” said Olga Suarez, a 64 year old retiree.
“Otherwise we are used to it because here almost all the time you go to bed and wake up without electricity,” she told AFP.
Cuba’s ageing electricity generation system is in shambles, with daily power outages of up to 20 hours the norm in parts of the island, which lacks the fuel needed to generate power.
But since the U.S. ouster of Cuba’s top ally, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, on January 3, the island’s economy has been hammered further as President Donald Trump maintains a de facto oil blockade.
No oil has been imported to the island since January 9, hitting the power sector while also forcing airlines to curtail flights to the island, a blow to the all-important tourism sector.
The crisis in the country of 9.6 million people comes as Mr. Trump says he wants a change of leadership in Havana.
Published – March 17, 2026 11:41 pm IST
