Cuba, a nation of nearly 10 million people, is grappling with a crumbling power grid and fuel shortages stemming from a U.S. energy blockade. An islandwide blackout struck the country on Friday for the second time this week.
Cause of the Blackout
Authorities in Cuba said the cause of the blackout was a ‘fluctuation in the parameters’ following a failure in a line connecting the provinces of Santa Clara and Sancti Spíritus.
The electrical grid in Cuba is particularly fragile, both due to the lack of maintenance of its aging infrastructure and the scarcity of the fuels on which it depends. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero stated that it has been another very difficult week under the impact of the energy blockade, with two disconnections of the National Electric System, almost no fuel to power the plants, and several units out of service.
Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island, deepening the island’s ongoing economic and financial crisis. Public transportation has largely been halted, and officials have canceled tens of thousands of surgeries.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
