Cuba plunged into islandwide blackout as power crisis worsens, in photos

March 17, 2026Updated: March 17, 2026
AP nullBy RAMON ESPINOSA

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — Officials in reported an Monday as deepening energy and economic crises continue to strain a crumbling power grid. It marked the third major outage in four months. A separate blackout just over a week ago affected western Cuba, leaving millions without electricity.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned Friday that the island has gone more than three months without oil shipments, relying instead on solar power, natural gas and aging thermoelectric plants. Cuba has blamed the crisis on a U.S. energy blockade, while U.S. President Donald Trump warned in January of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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