Cuba Restores Power Grid Amid US Sanctions and Protests

The Government of Cuba fully restored its national energy grid early Wednesday, July 8, 2026, following a total blackout that began on Monday. The failure, the third nationwide outage of the year, was triggered by a malfunction at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey. Despite the technical reconnection, Union Electrica reported a severe structural deficit, with demand expected to exceed capacity by over 2,000 MW during peak evening hours.

The crisis sparked spontaneous protests across Havana, Alamar, and Guanabacoa, where residents banged pots and set fires to protest power cuts that lasted up to 87 hours in some regions. President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged the suffering of citizens regarding shortages of food and medicine, but urged the public to direct their anger toward the United States, blaming a fuel blockade initiated by President Donald Trump in January 2026.

At the United Nations General Assembly, a special debate on the embargo highlighted escalating tensions. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla described the U.S. actions as non-conventional warfare. U.S. Ambassador Michael Waltz countered that the Cuban government imposes the real embargo on its own people, questioning why fuel is available for private jets but not hospitals. The session ended with 136 votes in favor of the debate, though the Cuban government noted this represents its weakest international support in over 30 years. The United States continues to demand the release of political prisoners as a condition for easing pressure.