Overview
- Cuba’s grid operator confirmed a total disconnection at 6:32 p.m. Saturday, the second island‑wide outage in a week and the third major failure in March.
- Authorities said an unexpected failure at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant triggered a cascade that shut down the national system serving roughly 10 million people.
- The energy ministry reported micro‑circuits operating in all provinces to power vital services, with Energas gas‑fired plants running and partial restorations reported in Havana.
- Fuel supplies remain severely constrained, with officials saying no oil has arrived since January 9 as U.S. measures deter shipments; Mexico has paused deliveries and reports on Russian tankers remain uncertain.
- The crisis is disrupting flights, healthcare and daily life, prompting protests, while Havana says talks with U.S. counterparts continue even as it rejects changes to its political system and prepares for potential aggression.