Electricity was reconnected across Cuba on Sunday, the state utility UNE reported, following a total system collapse on Friday that plunged all 9.6 million inhabitants into darkness. Restoration progressed slowly, constrained by an acute shortage of imported fuel. It was the second island-wide blackout in a week and the fourth in six months, extending a pattern of instability that the Cuban government attributes directly to the oil blockade imposed by the United States in January.

Viewing the situation from Havana, President Miguel Díaz-Canel described the recovery as ‘very complex under the genocidal oil siege,’ and officials said the lack of diesel and fuel oil prevents the use of backup generators, slowing repairs and exposing an ageing grid to recurrent failures. The seven thermoelectric plants, all over 40 years old, require frequent maintenance and shutdowns. Public frustration has erupted sporadically: in recent days residents in Havana and other cities banged pots and honked horns to demand ‘turn on the lights,’ while many endure rolling blackouts that can last more than 30 hours at a time.

Washington’s position, articulated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the fifth anniversary of 2021 anti-government protests, ties any easing of pressure to ‘real reforms, peace and prosperity.’ The Trump administration has framed the measures—including the oil embargo, sanctions on firms dealing with Cuban military entities, and the January military action against Venezuela that cut alternative oil supplies—as designed to force an opening of the political system and attract foreign investment, particularly in tourism. Yet the immediate effect has been a collapse of the tourist sector: in the first five months of 2026, visitors fell by 58 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier, leaving hotels empty and international carriers cancelling routes. Tour operators describe the destination as unattractive given blackouts and scarcity.

Non-governmental humanitarian initiatives are stepping in to ease shortages. An Italian solidarity container loaded with medical supplies and basic goods, organized by the association Semi di Pace, is expected to arrive on the island, while a UK-based travel company has redirected its efforts to fundraising for food donations, calling the current situation ‘a drop in the ocean’ but the only possible response. These efforts recall the dispatch of Cuban medical workers to Italy during the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, a form of reciprocity now being evoked. The Cuban grid remains under strain, with the state utility warning that scheduled outages will continue due to low generation capacity, and no rapid resolution is in sight as only a single Russian oil tanker has been permitted to deliver crude since the US blockade began.