Sunset Without Sunrise: Cuba’s Deepening Blackout Crisis

In the muted glow of street lamps under a velvet Caribbean sky, many Cubans are once again finding their evenings swallowed by darkness. What once might have been a whisper of worry has grown into a persistent hum of uncertainty: fuel supplies, which power both their homes and the country’s generators, are drying up.

Cuba now finds itself grappling with a deepening energy crisis, one rooted in a sharp drop in fuel imports from two of its closest allies, Mexico and Venezuela. According to shipping data and internal documents, in the first ten months of 2025, Cuba’s overall crude and fuel imports fell by more than a third compared to the same period in 2024 — a staggering decline that is making daily power cuts harder to control.

The island’s power system depends heavily on refined products like fuel oil and diesel to produce electricity. But the downturn in imports has denied Cuba the stability it needs. From January to October, its oil imports from Mexico plunged by about 73%, while shipments from Venezuela — once its largest political and energy ally — dropped nearly 15%.

These shortfalls have real consequences. Cuba has had to shut down nearly 900 megawatts of daily power generation, roughly a third of its capacity, according to the country’s electrical union. In Havana, unplanned blackouts now sometimes stretch beyond nine hours per day. In more remote provinces, electricity may flicker on for just two to four hours.

Part of the problem is not just Cuba’s dependence, but its partners’ limitations. Mexico’s state oil company, Pemex, has prioritized markets that pay more, leaving little spare capacity for Cuba’s more modest means. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s PDVSA has cut back the kind of fuel Cuba most needs — especially heavy fuel oil used in power plants — as it refocuses on its own refining needs. Adding to the strain is the lack of vessels to transport what little fuel is available, creating logistical bottlenecks.

Yet, even if Cuba could secure every last drop of fuel it once received, its infrastructure remains fragile. Its aging power grid has already shown signs of collapse: earlier this year, a substation failure triggered a nationwide blackout. Many of its plants were built decades ago and suffer from wear and underinvestment.

The Cuban government puts part of the blame on the economic crisis, structural decay, and even recent hurricane damage — all of which make maintaining and running the power system increasingly difficult. Meanwhile, ordinary Cubans are left to cope: when the lights go out, they wait. For students like Daniela Castillo, darkness can mean an impossible choice between studying or having dinner.

Still, not all hope is lost: there are plans for floating power plants and solar parks that could reduce Cuba’s reliance on imported fuel. But for now, the country walks a fragile line — dependent, exposed, and under rising pressure.

Cuba’s power crisis is not just a technical problem. It is a mirror to its broader struggles — economic, geopolitical, and infrastructural. And unless the flow of fuel changes, the lights may continue to flicker, leaving many Cubans to wonder how long they can wait for a brighter horizon.

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