Cuba begins to recover after its third nationwide power outage this month

Описание: (22 Mar 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Havana, Cuba - 22 March 2026
1. Various people scavenging in street
2. Local resident Luis Enrique Ferrer buying vegetables
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Luis Enrrique Ferrer, resident:
"The power outages are becoming more and more frequent. For me, it's critical and they need to find a solution soon. Havana can't take it anymore, as the song says."
4. Local resident Isabel Hernández sitting on the sidewalk
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Isabel Hernández, retired:
"I haven't been able to have breakfast because there's no electricity, and look at the darkness behind me (inside my house)."
6. Local resident Dilan Mena walking
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Dilan Mena, resident:
"Last night, my little girl could barely sleep because the blackout was just terrible. The yogurt we had stored away spoiled on us. After more than 16 hours without electricity, all our food went to waste."
8. Neighbors Teresa Martínez and María Regla talking
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Teresa Martínez, retired:
"Of course, all of this is frustrating, but in the end, everything gets resolved."
10. Neighbors talking
11. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) María Regla Cardoso, housewife:
"Politics doesn't interest me. And—whether we face difficulties or not—we simply have to keep living. I leave everything in God's hands. Whatever form the situation takes, we just have to face it."
12. Man carrying his daughter in his arms down the street
13. Man walking his dog
14. Man on his balcony
15. Electric generator on the sidewalk
STORYLINE:
Some Cubans walked the streets of Havana in search of food; others sat in their doorways, seeking a bit of light outside their darkened homes.

This was the scene on Sunday morning, following a night of blackouts—the third on the island so far this month.

"Havana can't take any more, as the song goes," said Luis Enrrique Ferrer, a resident.

"I haven't been able to have breakfast because there's no electricity," said another resident, Isabel Hernández.

"My food has spoiled," lamented Dilan Mena.

Residents' difficulties came as Cuba began restoring its power grid on Sunday after a nationwide blackout late Saturday night that left millions in the dark.

In parts of the capital, residents told The Associated Press that power was restored early in the morning.

Services like Internet access were also sometimes disrupted.

Cuba is facing an unprecedented energy crisis after US President Donald Trump imposed an oil embargo on the island in January, pressuring it to change its political system and following his attack on Venezuela, one of the island’s main fuel suppliers.

Daily blackouts—whether region-wide or affecting specific circuits—that last for hours are taking a toll on the population, causing difficulties with cooking, water supply, food preservation, and appliance breakdowns; and these are compounded by nationwide outages.

The Electric Power Company reported that the total blackout of the National Power System was caused by an unexpected shutdown of a generating unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey Province, but did not specify the exact cause of the failure.

AP video by Milexsy Durán and Ariel Fernández

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