What We're Watching

Will Cuba’s government collapse with its grid?

​A woman sitting at her house, looks on as Cuba suffers a third major setback in restoring power to the island, with millions still without electrical service, in Havana, Cuba, October 20, 2024.
A woman sitting at her house, looks on as Cuba suffers a third major setback in restoring power to the island, with millions still without electrical service, in Havana, Cuba, October 20, 2024.
REUTERS/Norlys Perez

Millions of Cubans remain in the dark amid a worsening power crisis. The collapse first hit Cuba’s western provinces, including the capital of Havana, on Friday, with no clear timeline for restoration. While the Antonio Guiteras power plant was brought back online over the weekend, its 500-megawatt output falls far short of the 3 gigawatts the island needs, and its output has dropped to 370 megawatts.

Residents are cooking on open fires, water supplies are threatened, bread is running out, and people are running out of patience – which led to protests in Marianao and Cuatro Caminos on Saturday.

Power cuts and food rationing prompted protests earlier this year, and while theregime remained in charge, this latest crisis is the worst since Hurricane Ian damaged Cuba’s power grid in 2022. President Miguel Díaz-Canelblames the US embargo, which has left Cuba unable to maintain electric plants due to a lack of foreign reserves to pay for parts. Cuts in subsidized oil imports from Venezuela also made it impossible to operate facilities due to lack of fuel, leaving some households without power for eight hours a day this year.

The crisis has been compounded by Hurricane Oscar, which made landfall on Sunday with winds of up to 85 mph and 5 to 15 inches of rain. We’ll be watching how the regime and public anger weather the storm.

More For You

A banner reading "Buy Canadian", in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on goods from Canada, is held aloft by a pair of hockey sticks in front of a house in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada March 5, 2025.
REUTERS/Ed White

Washington and Ottawa are down to the wire with last-minute talks to reach an agreement by 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, when President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on over $20 billion of Canadian goods.

Will Fitzpatrick

On Saturday, Liechtenstein’s hereditary prince announced that the tiny country of around 40,000 people would end male-only succession and adopt firstborn inheritance.

U.S. Army soldiers take part in a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, which is a part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the demilitarized zone separating South and North Korea, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, March 14, 2026.
REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon

The decision deals a blow to a decades-old alliance: South Korea relies heavily on US deterrence against its nuclear-armed northern neighbor and hosts 28,500 American troops.