Massive power outage hits Cuba’s western region leaving millions without electricity
PBS NewsHour7 days
Cuba Reconnects Power Grid After Power Outage Hits Western Provinces
Are U.S. sanctions strangling Cuba's power grid, or has communist mismanagement caused the infrastructure collapse?
Above: Pedestrians walk past a turned-off traffic light on a street in Havana on Dec. 3, 2025. Image credit: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Cuba's blackouts stem from decades of communist central planning failures that have created an inefficient electrical system that is now crumbling. Central planners cannot produce reliable electricity because they lack the market incentives and competition that drive innovation and proper resource allocation. The government's cash-strapped system diverts scarce resources to disaster relief instead of long-term infrastructure investment, creating a vicious cycle of neglect and failure.
Establishment-critical narrative
U.S. sanctions have pulped Cuba's economy and directly caused the blackouts by cutting off financial institutions, blocking fuel payments and destroying tourism through American terror designations. The decades-long blockade manufactured a cash-scarce economy where even exempt imports like medication can't be purchased because banks refuse transactions. This economic warfare is the root cause of Cuba's infrastructure collapse, not government mismanagement.