Cuba hit with seventh major blackout of the year

Cuba was plunged into its seventh massive blackout of the year on Friday as fuel shortages wear on the US-blockaded island.

Just five percent of residents in the Cuban capital Havana had power on Friday evening.

"A total disconnection of the electrical system has occurred," the energy ministry earlier wrote on X.

The nationwide blackout, the 12th since late 2024, occurred after a failure "in the transmission lines" paired with "unstable weather conditions," state-run utility UNE said.

The island of over nine million people endures constant power cuts due to the poor state of its aging thermoelectric plants.

But the situation has worsened significantly since January, when Washington imposed a de facto energy blockade on the island in a bid to pressure Havana's communist government.

A severe lack of fuel makes it difficult to supply Cuba's power plants and backup generators, which typically run on imported diesel.

"It's one thing after another: no water, no gas for cooking, no electricity," schoolteacher Lidia Fernandez, who was just finishing up her workday, told AFP.

"Honestly, I don't know how we haven't gone crazy," the visibly irritated 36-year-old added.

In recent weeks, blackouts have lasted more than 30 hours in the capital, while in outlying provinces, they have sometimes stretched past 60 hours.

Retiree Francisco Rodriguez, 78, told AFP his home had already gone without power for 28 hours on Friday.

"I thought they might at least turn the electricity back on for a few hours soon, but now...I think we won't have light for several days," he said.

The cuts have also affected the island's water supply and mobile phone network, and general living conditions are extremely tough for residents.

"It's no longer just the electricity. We're having problems with water and gas as well," 60-year-old Lazaro Reyes told AFP.

- 'Problem is growing' -

Havana blames the crisis on an array of US-imposed punitive measures, while Washington attributes the hardship to poor internal management.

An economic crisis has engulfed the Caribbean island, where 66 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to an independent study released this week.

That is compared to 45 percent in mid-2025, with rising food costs behind the sharp increase in poverty, the research by the Christian Center for Reflection and Dialogue (CCRD) suggests.

The findings give "an indicative picture that the problem is growing," study coordinator Mayra Espina told AFP.

Another retiree, Zunilda Garcia, took the latest blackout in stride, stepping outside to charge a small lamp with solar energy.

"We have to wait and stay calm," Garcia, 60, said. "We can't lose hope."