Cuba suffers third nationwide blackout in a week

Cuba's national power grid has collapsed for the third time in a single week, plunging the entire country into darkness. The Energy Ministry confirmed the complete breakdown of the electricity system and announced that immediate efforts to restore power were underway.

Officials later identified a fault in a block at a thermal power plant as the cause of the widespread outage. Power is now being gradually restored in various regions across the island. This latest blackout follows similar nationwide failures that occurred on Friday and Monday of the previous week.

The recurring power outages highlight Cuba's ongoing and severe energy crisis. Many of the country's power plants are outdated and frequently malfunction. Compounding the problem is a persistent shortage of fuel needed to generate sufficient electricity. The Cuban government attributes these energy challenges, in part, to the U.S. trade embargo and other sanctions imposed by the United States.

These sanctions have significantly impacted Cuba's ability to secure fuel imports. The government in Washington has threatened additional tariffs on countries exporting oil to Cuba, leading to a near cessation of foreign fuel supplies. Consequently, the island nation can only meet a fraction of its oil requirements domestically. The U.S. government continues to employ various pressure tactics aimed at forcing economic and political changes in Cuba aligned with American interests. Most recently, on Monday, the U.S. added Cuba's tourism ministry, a key sector for the nation's economy, to its sanctions list.