Cuba Suffers Massive, Island-Wide Power Outage

Cuba has suffered another power outage – this one across the entire country, leaving about 11 million people without power.

It’s the third outage in four months and is the first total collapse since the U.S blocked oil flow to the country. The country suffered the loss of Venezuela as an oil supplier and U.S. President Donald Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. That blockade of fuel shipments has only worsened the country’s energy crisis which is made worse by an aging energy infrastructure.

In a post on X Monday (March 16) afternoon, Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines said “There has been a total disconnection of the National Electric System (SEN), the causes are being investigated and the protocols for restoration are being activated.”

According to CNN, fuel prices have skyrocketed so much that gas can be as much as $9 a litre meaning it costs more than $300 to fill up a car’s gas tank, more than most Cubans earn in a year. The effective blockade of fuel shipments has worsened the country’s energy crisis, causing intermittent power cuts, a rationing of medical supplies and a decrease in tourism, officials have said.

All Canadian tour operators have stopped flights to Cuba as the country faces aviation fuel shortages.

Cuba ranks sixth among international destinations for Canadians and had more than 300,000 airline seats scheduled for the first quarter of 2026 alone. Last year however, the Cuban national statistics office ONEI reported that 2025 arrivals were down 17.8% from the previous year, to 1.8 million. 2018 was the peak year to date for Cuban tourism, with 4.7 million arrivals. Canadian visitors in 2025 were down 12.4% from the year before.