WorldCuba suffered its seventh major blackout of the year on Friday. The island of more than nine million people faces frequent outages because of its deteriorating, aging thermoelectric plants, with conditions worsening sharply since Washington imposed a de facto energy blockade in January.
EconomyCuba is rolling out major economic reforms as severe fuel and electricity shortages worsen its economic crisis. The government is opening parts of tourism to private foreign capital and allowing Cubans abroad to own businesses to attract investment and raise urgently needed revenue. Persistent blackouts, fuel shortages and scarce basic goods continue to burden residents.
SocietyAs Cuba’s food shortage worsens, some elderly residents search through trash for their next meal. Church volunteers are providing food that has become the only meal available to some people.
NBC News
SocietyAbout 1.4 million Cuban children are returning to school amid a severe energy crisis. Nationwide blackouts, ageing infrastructure and a longstanding US oil embargo have disrupted education, while shortages of teachers and uniform materials have prompted relaxed dress codes. Officials say merely completing the school year would be a success.
WorldSeven months into an effective oil blockade imposed by the Trump administration, Cuba is suffering more power outages and worsening access to running water. The Cuban Institute of Hydraulic Resources says the number of people struggling to obtain water has risen from 2.6 million in August 2025 to 3.5 million today, about one-third of the population, with health risks spreading across the island.
EconomyU.S. fuel exports to Cuba are fueling a chaotic black market amid the country’s fuel crisis.
Reuters
EconomyCuba’s economy is under severe strain from tighter US sanctions, declining tourism and the loss of former economic lifelines from the Soviet Union and Venezuela. Lawmakers have approved 176 free-market reforms to expand foreign and private investment, decentralize the economy and liberalize tourism, banking, property and agriculture. But economists and Cuban-American investors say Havana has a credibility problem because the government has promised reform before.
Bloomberg Television
WorldCuba has endured its fourth nationwide blackout in a single month, leaving Havana residents visibly worn down. The outage is deepening the island’s energy crisis and disrupting basic routines. Families are struggling to cook meals, keep food stored safely and sleep at home. Repeated power failures are placing growing pressure on daily life in the capital.
Reuters
SocietySome Cubans banged pots and pans from balconies on August 3 to protest the country’s sixth nationwide power outage this year. Electricity had started returning across the island when bad weather triggered another collapse of the national grid. The repeated outages are spoiling food, reducing supplies of treated drinking water and disrupting public services. Anger is growing as Cuba remains cut off from reliable power.