Cubans struggle to bounce back after 6th nationwide blackout this year

Cubans on Monday were recovering from the sixth islandwide blackout this year, as the nation remains in free-fall after the Trump administration effectively cut it off from oil in January.

The energy grid collapses leave people with fewer options to get by as the U.S. keeps up a pressure campaign against the communist-led government.

Cuba’s government was working to restore power after the state-run electric company reported another “total” blackout Sunday night, without specifying the cause. That followed sweeping outages across western Cuba, including the cities of Pinar del Río, Matanzas and Havana.

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By Monday, some electricity had been restored in Havana, but much of the Caribbean nation was still disconnected.

Cuba already had been reeling from years of economic and energy crisis, compounded by crumbling infrastructure and migration from the island. Then the U.S. threatened to impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide it with oil.

Energy authorities reported two nationwide grid collapses in March and three in July, along with several partial outages.

Rolling blackouts now last more than 20 hours a day. Obtaining gas and basic goods have become daylong endeavors. The island’s once bustling tourism industry has bottomed out. Hospitals have been left reeling.

Many in Havana struggle to sleep in the summer heat. Some now sleep along Havana’s famous boardwalk, the malecón, with the benefit of the sea breeze.