Cuban officials said they were working to restore power following a major nationwide blackout that left homes, businesses and public services without electricity. The outage is the latest in a series of large disruptions to the island's power system this year.
This event marks at least the sixth widespread blackout recorded in Cuba since the implementation of a United States-imposed energy blockade earlier in the year. Cuban authorities and state media have linked recurrent outages to constraints on fuel and resources needed to run thermal generation and maintain the grid.
The repeated interruptions have compounded long-standing challenges for Cuba's electricity infrastructure, which officials say has suffered from underinvestment and a lack of spare parts. Authorities have on previous occasions implemented rolling cuts and emergency measures to mitigate the impact of major failures while repair crews work to restore service.
The latest blackout is likely to renew scrutiny of the humanitarian and economic consequences of the blockade, which critics say restricts access to fuel and equipment needed for essential services. Cuban government statements following outages have called for relief from restrictions and appealed for international solidarity to address immediate needs and longer-term infrastructure vulnerabilities.