What will it take for Trump to end the nationwide blackout in Cuba?

Cuba is in the midst of an island-wide blackout as its energy and economic crises deepen and its power grid continues to crumble.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines on X noted a ‘complete disconnection’ of the country’s electrical system on Monday and said it was investigating.

But there were no failures in the units that were operating when the ageing grid collapsed.

The government has blamed its woes on a US energy blockade after President Donald Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.

The Trump administration is demanding that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalisation in return for a lifting of sanctions.

Yesterday, the President told reporters: ‘I do believe I’ll have the honour of taking Cuba. Taking Cuba in some form, whether I free it, take it, I can do anything I want.’

President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the island had not received oil shipments in the three months since Trump captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the US attacked the South American country in early January.

Since the blockade, Cuba has been operating on solar power, natural gas and thermoelectric plants, and the government has had to postpone surgeries for tens of thousands of people.

Yaimisel Sanchez Pena, 48, said she was upset that the food she buys with money that her son in the US sends keeps spoiling.

Mercedes Velazquez, a 71-year-old Cuban resident, said: ‘We’re here waiting to see what happens. Everything goes bad.’

What is Trump demanding?

On Friday, Diaz-Canel confirmed that Cuba was holding talks with the US government as the problems continue to deepen.

By the end of 2026, the US government is hoping to ‘change leadership’ of Cuba, and is looking for government insiders to ‘cut a deal’ to make it possible, reports in January said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the administration’s plans, which would seek to oust Diaz-Canel, who has led Cuba since 2019.

The government is already meeting with Cuban exiles in Miami and Washington, in hopes of reaching a government official in Havana who could help make a change happen.

The US tried to buy Cuba in both the 1840s and 1850s, to no avail, before Cuba gained independence in 1902.

America also previously tried to oust Fidel Castro, Cuba’s leader in the 1960s, through the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.

What’s happening with Cuba’s power grid?

While Cuba produces 40% of its petroleum and has been generating its own power, it hasn’t been able to meet demand.

William LeoGrande, a professor at American University who has tracked Cuba for years, said: ‘The Cuban government doesn’t have the hard currency to import spare parts or upgrade the plant or grid itself. It’s just a perfect storm of collapse.’

Thermoelectric plants also have been using heavy oil, whose sulphur content is corroding the equipment.

Tomas David Velazquez Felipe, a 61-year-old resident of Havana, said the relentless outages make him think that Cubans who can should just pack up and leave the island.

‘What little we have to eat spoils,’ he said. ‘Our people are too old to keep suffering.’

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