Cuba blackout exposes deepening fuel crisis

• Fuel shortages in Cuba are severely restricting access to basic services, as a nationwide power outage underscored the scale of the crisis.

• The disruption followed a malfunction at a major power station, with electricity only “gradually” returning.

• Cuba’s aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, leading to an increase in daily outages and islandwide blackouts. 

• Humanitarians warned that the energy crunch is affecting daily life across the country. 

• In Havana, uncollected rubbish is piling up and air quality has worsened as residents burn waste and wood for cooking.

• Authorities say more than 50,000 surgeries were postponed due to energy shortages.

• Aid deliveries are also being hit. Dozens of containers remain at Havana’s port in the capital, while fuel scarcity is “slowing down and driving up the cost” of getting assistance to those in need. 

• The Pan American Health Organisation — affiliated with the UN health agency WHO — continues supplying medical items, but operations are constrained.

• The Trump administration has effectively halted vital oil exports to Cuba, pushing the Caribbean nation to the brink.

• Cuba needs desperately to revive the island’s collapsed economy, a predicament made worse by a US-imposed oil blockade and sanctions that have led to extended blackouts and shortages of fuel, food and medicine. 

• While Cuba produces 40 per cent of its petroleum and has been generating its own power, it hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand as its electric grid continues to crumble.

• The Trump administration is demanding that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions. 

• Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba”.