Cuba plunged into total darkness for the second time in less than a week due to a massive failure in its national power grid, revealing the critical state of its aging infrastructure and the crippling lack of fuel caused by the US oil embargo. The national electrical system suffered a 'total disconnection' that even left Havana without power, where outages last more than 15 hours, while in the island's interior provinces, the lack of supply exceeds 40 hours uninterrupted, marking the seventh general collapse since late 2024. According to the state power company, the origin of the incident is the shutdown of a unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant, located in the center of the country, which causes a 'cascading effect on the machines that were online'. The fuel shortage and technical failures are paralyzing the economy and exhausting social patience. The operational situation is extreme: energy generation relies on eight power plants over 40 years old that suffer recurring breakdowns or forced shutdowns due to lack of maintenance. President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned that 'any external aggressor will find an insurmountable resistance,' while the Cuban economy remains almost paralyzed by the halt in crude shipments from Venezuela. Although Tanieris Dieguez, deputy head of Cuba's mission in Washington, affirms that Havana is open to talks and allowing investments, she sharply clarifies that the political system 'will never' be part of a negotiation. Amid the shortage of food and medicine, the arrival of international aid and unconfirmed reports of Russian ships with diesel are the only signs of relief for a population that is already expressing its frustration with protests and raids on official headquarters. Meanwhile, workers like Meiven Rodríguez must continue to sell in the dim light to survive: 'You have to do it because otherwise, how are you going to bring money home?' The president last Monday linked his strategy to the alleged threat that Cuba represents due to its ties with China, Russia, and Iran. The shutdown of a central thermoelectric plant caused a cascading failure. 'I really believe I will have the honor of taking Cuba, somehow. I mean, liberating it, or taking it,' he stated. 'I think I can do whatever I want,' the head of state considered. 'It hasn't been a week since we were in a similar situation; one is already tired,' declares Ofelia Oliva, a 64-year-old citizen, while taxi driver Nilo López asks with frustration: 'I wonder if we are going to be like this all our lives, because you can't live like this.' According to what Argentine News Agency learned, the energy crisis is intensifying in a context of high political tension after the US president, Donald Trump, openly expressed his intentions regarding the island. In the streets of the capital, resignation turns into visible discontent. 'This is already unbearable.'
