Western Cuba faces blackout as government seeks to update energy grid
Electrical failures due to ageing infrastructure, hurricanes and a struggling economy have prompted widespread protests.
![A power failure left Havana, Cuba, in the dark on December 3 [Norlys Perez/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-03T150929Z_819452323_RC209IAKNZWK_RTRMADP_3_CUBA-CRISIS-BLACKOUT-1764781799.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Electrical failures due to ageing infrastructure, hurricanes and a struggling economy have prompted widespread protests.
![A power failure left Havana, Cuba, in the dark on December 3 [Norlys Perez/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-03T150929Z_819452323_RC209IAKNZWK_RTRMADP_3_CUBA-CRISIS-BLACKOUT-1764781799.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

![The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gravely approaches Port of Spain [Andrea De Silva/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025-10-26T182701Z_622383655_RC2LJHACRXAE_RTRMADP_3_USA-MILITARY-CARIBBEAN-TRINIDAD-1761688757.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![People walk on the street during a blackout as Cuba struggles to ease power cuts amid reduced fuel supplies from Venezuela, in Havana, Cuba, on November 18, 2025 [Norlys Perez/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2025-11-19T181305Z_426420013_RC2BZHAX6BGF_RTRMADP_3_CUBA-ENERGY-VENEZUELA-MEXICO-1763791788.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)






Hurricane Melissa slammed into Cuba destroying homes, flooding neighbourhoods and cutting off entire communities.
Recovery efforts are under way across Jamaica after Melissa rips off roofs, cuts electricity and unleashes floodwaters.










Cuba denies US allegations of mercenary activity in Ukraine and insists the embargo is a form of collective punishment.

Jamaica’s government is appealing for overseas aid after the most powerful hurricane to ever hit the Caribbean island.
‘Monstrous’ Hurricane Melissa crosses Cuba after killing dozens in Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.
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The Category 5 storm, which threatens to dump up to one metre (three feet) of rain, is moving at a worryingly slow pace.
Alleged trafficker, Zhi Dong Zhang, who had escaped Mexican authorities in July, was arrested in Cuba,