In Cuba, nearly 10 million people were left without power due to a blackout

Cuba’s national power grid has completely shut down, leaving virtually the entire island—with a population of about 10 million people—without electricity. 

According to the state-run power grid operator UNE, the emergency nationwide blackout occurred on Monday, July 6, around noon. Experts are currently working to determine the exact causes of this massive power grid collapse.

Even before the grid completely shut down, about two-thirds of the country’s territory had already been without power due to a chronic shortage of electricity generation. For many months, Cuba has been suffering from prolonged power rationing lasting several hours or even several days. Experts cite the critical level of wear and tear on the energy infrastructure, technical malfunctions, and an acute shortage of fuel for thermal power plants as the main factors behind the crisis. This blackout has dealt yet another severe blow to the local population, which is forced to survive without electricity amid the grueling summer heat and against the backdrop of a deep economic crisis.

This was reported by Reuters.

On June 24, the United States announced a new package of sanctions against several Cuban organizations, as well as the wife of Alejandro Castro Espín—head of Cuba’s National Security Council and son of the country’s former leader, Raúl Castro. The sanctions intensify Washington’s pressure on the Cuban leadership.

Earlier, Trump spoke about a possible resumption of dialogue between the two countries. CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in Havana as part of the U.S. delegation. 

Cuba is in the midst of a severe sanitation crisis, as a result of which the streets of Havana are filled with meter-high piles of trash stretching up to a quarter of a block. The country’s authorities cite an acute fuel shortage—which arose after the U.S. administration cut off Havana’s access to oil—as the main cause of this critical situation.