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Cuba's national electrical grid collapsed at around 2 p.m. local time on Friday, and the U.S. Embassy in Havana issued a security alert hours later telling Americans on the island that the timeline to restore power was unknown. The embassy reported cellphone and internet outages alongside the loss of electricity.
Cuban authorities traced the failure to high-voltage transmission lines, according to Reuters. Felix Estrada, an official with Cuba's National Electrical Union, said protocols were in place to begin a gradual restoration of the system. By late evening, power had returned to a handful of scattered neighborhoods in Havana, mostly around hospitals. Much of the capital stayed dark under cloud and rain.
Cuban regime media said the cause of the collapse was under investigation. It was at least the sixth partial or total grid failure on the island since January. The grid went down three times in July alone, and rolling blackouts since then have run 30 hours or more across most of the country.
The generating system has been under strain for years from fuel shortages and decrepit infrastructure. A U.S. oil blockade that began in January has sharply worsened the pattern, blocking most oil from reaching the Caribbean's largest island. United Nations human rights experts have condemned the blockade as a violation of international law and warned that Cuba risks becoming a "silent Gaza" as shortages deepen.
The embassy alert described the grid as increasingly unstable, with scheduled power cuts happening daily and unscheduled outages persisting throughout the country. It pointed U.S. citizens toward daily updates published by Unión Eléctrica, the state grid operator, and to local media for restoration news.
The alert also set out basic preparation steps for Americans in Cuba: keeping mobile phones and portable battery banks charged, keeping flashlights and spare batteries within reach, stocking nonperishable food and water, and arranging alternatives for medical needs that depend on electricity, including powered devices and refrigerated medicines.
The State Department's travel advisory for Cuba stands at Level 2, exercise increased caution. It was updated to reflect information on power grid failures and on Treasury Department licensing for travel to the island.
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