Cuba Faces Nationwide Blackout After Power Plant Failure

Cuba experienced a nationwide blackout on Friday after the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant failed, leading to a total shutdown of the national electric grid. The outage, which left approximately 10 million people without power, began as an energy emergency situation on Thursday evening, resulting in emergency measures like school closures and the suspension of non-essential government services. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero attributed the failure to deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages exacerbated by Hurricane Milton, and rising energy demand. He emphasized that the government is prioritizing electricity supply to residential areas while facing ongoing economic challenges. Restoration efforts are currently underway, but officials have not provided a timeline for when power will be fully restored. The situation has raised concerns among citizens already grappling with economic difficulties and food shortages.