Overview
- Last weekend's grid collapse was the sixth full‑island failure recorded this year, and outages now routinely stretch for 12, 30 hours or longer.
- Cuban officials point to tightened U.S. energy restrictions as a trigger for fuel shortfalls reported since January.
- Independent reporting and analysts attribute the deeper cause to decades‑old thermoelectric plants, chronic fuel shortages and long maintenance shortfalls.
- Households are coping with small generators, solar kits and rechargeable devices to pump water, refrigerate food and keep cool during brief power windows.
- Tourism has effectively collapsed with about 25,000 hospitality jobs vacant and frequent flight cancellations, while public transport and medical services face growing disruptions that worsen medicine shortages and food spoilage.