Key facts
- Protests erupted in Havana as millions of Cubans faced prolonged power outages.
- Residents expressed frustration by banging pots and honking horns.
- The outages are attributed to a six-month US fuel blockade.
- Cuba experienced a nationwide grid collapse on Monday, its third this year.
- While most of the country was reconnected by Tuesday evening, many remained in the dark.
- The US sanctions aim to pressure Cuba's government, which Cuba and the UN deem illegal.
Scattered protests broke out across Havana on Tuesday evening as millions of Cubans remained without power, a situation exacerbated by a six-month U.S. fuel blockade. Residents took to the streets, banging pots, honking horns, and shouting for electricity restoration.
Cuba experienced a nationwide grid collapse on Monday, its third this year. While the country's grid operator, UNE, announced that most of the island had been reconnected by late Tuesday, many areas, including Santiago de Cuba, remained in the dark. The U.S. cut off Cuba's fuel supply in January and imposed further sanctions, which Cuba and the United Nations argue violate international law and the human rights of its residents.
Hundreds of residents in Havana's outlying neighborhoods participated in the protests, with some accustomed to blackouts lasting 30 hours or more. Local resident Amauri Gonzalez expressed a lack of optimism for a swift resolution, citing obsolete power plants and fuel shortages. In some instances, power returned shortly after protests began, prompting demonstrators to return to their homes.