In a repeat of previous power outages, Cuba has once again been left without electricity after a critical failure at a key plant near the capital led to the collapse of the national electrical grid. The outage, affecting the entire island of approximately 11 million people, occurred in the early hours of Wednesday following an automatic switch tripping at the CTE Antonio Guiteras power plant, which has a capacity of 330 megawatts.
This recent blackout echoes a similar, extended outage in October that was also caused by problems at the same plant in Matanzas, located around 100 kilometers east of Havana. Just a few weeks later, another power shortage struck when a hurricane swept through, leaving the country in darkness once more.
Cuba, facing severe economic challenges and experiencing its most significant crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union, has witnessed a mass exodus of around 10% of its population since 2020. The government, grappling with political and economic unrest, anticipates further strain as the United States potentially intensifies pressure following the impending return of former President Donald Trump to the White House.