Cuba hit by total blackout as US fuel blockade bitesA blackout on March 4 in Havana, where extended power outages are commonplace as Cuba, facing a US oil embargo, lacks the fuel needed to generate powerHAVANA - A power outage struck the entire island of Cuba on Monday, the state-owned electric company said, the latest blackout as the United States pursues its oil blockade against the island's communist government. Cuba's ageing electricity generation system is in shambles, with daily power outages of up to 20 hours the norm in parts of the island, which lacks the fuel needed to generate power. But since the US ouster of Cuba's top ally, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, on January 3, the island's economy has been hammered further as President Donald Trump maintains a de facto oil blockade. Trump has alleged the fuel blockade is a response to an "extraordinary threat" posed by Cuba to the United States. Trump said Sunday that Cuba "wants to make a "deal", which could come quickly after his administration has finished the war against Iran.

Source: Bangkok Post March 16, 2026 21:36 UTC