Cuba experienced an island-wide blackout on Monday amid a worsening fuel shortage that has strained its electric grid. The outage affected the country’s nearly 10 million residents, with the state-run Electric Union reporting on social media that the cause of the blackout is under investigation. The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced it has activated protocols aimed at restoring electricity across the island.

The fuel scarcity in Cuba has been ongoing since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs targeting any nation that sells or supplies oil to the island, exacerbating the country’s existing economic and financial challenges. Cuba produces approximately 40 percent of the fuel it requires domestically. A shipment of 730,000 barrels of oil delivered by a Russian tanker in late March was depleted by the end of April, leaving the country reliant on limited imports.

The fuel shortfall has had widespread consequences throughout Cuba. Public transportation has been significantly disrupted, and hospitals have been forced to cancel tens of thousands of operations due to power shortages and fuel scarcity. The government has implemented power rationing measures that include intentional blackouts, which at times have lasted more than 24 consecutive hours. Similar widespread power outages affected the eastern provinces in mid-May, while a blackout in mid-March impacted the entire island.

Cuban officials have not provided a definitive explanation for the latest blackout but are working to resolve the crisis amid continuing international sanctions and supply difficulties. The ongoing situation highlights the fragility of Cuba’s energy infrastructure in the face of sustained economic pressures and restricted access to fuel imports.