Power cuts started in Cuba back in 2019, when the first Trump administration started hammering the country with so-called maximum-pressure sanctions. They aimed to gouge the country's economy of billions of dollars a year, and, as a result, the communist government had to drastically cut fuel imports because it simply did not have the cash.
The Cuban Ministry for Energy and Mines said that there has been a "total disconnection" from the electricity grid. "The causes are being investigated and protocols for restoration are beginning to be activated," the ministry posted on X. Cuba has been suffering long blackouts as US President Donald Trump's administration blocks Venezuelan oil shipments to the island.
Taking a taxi in Havana is an increasingly difficult mission, growing more complicated and expensive from one day to the next as drivers run out of the rationed gasoline they receive. When you say taxi, you might find an almendron—a classic car used for public transportation—a gacela—one of the government's yellow minibuses—a cocotaxi—a motorized tricycle with a shell—a bicitaxi—a man pedaling for tourists under an umbrella—a motorcycle, an electric tricycle, or even a horse-drawn carriage.
The Wall Street Journal reported late last month that President Donald Trump's administration is "emboldened" by its kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and is now "searching for Cuban government insiders who can help cut a deal to push out" the government of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who has expressed openness to talks with the US - but not under economic coercion.
