Cuba's Grid Collapses a Third Time in 10 Days, Leaving ~10 Million Without Power

Cuba's national power grid collapsed again on July 14, 2026 — the third total blackout in 10 days and fifth of the year — cutting electricity to roughly 10 million people across the island. The repeated failures stem directly from the fuel-starved state of Cuba's aging thermoelectric plants under the Trump administration's oil blockade, which has left the grid with no operating reserve: a single plant tripping offline now cascades into a nationwide collapse. The escalating frequency of total blackouts, on top of already-severe rolling outages, marks a new low point in the crisis first flagged as catastrophic when fuel reserves hit zero in May 2026.