Cuba's electricity system has failed. This has caused a big problem for the country. About ten million people have no power. This blackout is because of a lack of fuel. Many people are unhappy. It shows how outside pressures affect Cuba. The national power grid stopped working on Monday.
The main reason for this failure is no oil imports. President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Cuba has not received oil for three months. Venezuela used to send much more oil. This lack of fuel makes it hard for Cuba's old power plants to work. Many of these plants are very old. They need more fuel to run.
Venezuela is Cuba's main oil supplier. However, Venezuela has less oil to export. This is because of problems in Venezuela. The flow of oil to Cuba has stopped. Some fuel arrived in January and February. But this was not enough for Cuba's needs. Efforts to get more fuel have also been difficult.
The United States has also made things worse. President Trump said his government would pressure Cuba. The US has tried to stop oil shipments to Cuba. They also threatened countries that send fuel to Cuba. This has combined with less oil from Venezuela. This has created a big energy problem.
The power cuts have greatly affected Cubans. Daily life is difficult without electricity. Essential services are also impacted. People are very frustrated. There have been some protests. Authorities are trying to fix the power slowly. However, the main problems are still there. This means Cuba will likely face hard times for a while. The situation shows Cuba's weakness to outside problems.