Cuba suffers third nationwide blackout in two weeks amid power grid failure

Fuel shortages have spread throughout Cuba since January after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a threat to levy tariffs on any country that supplies or sells oil to the island. The proposed measures were intended to pressure the Cuban government but have instead tightened the flow of petroleum products, compounding the nation’s longstanding financial and economic difficulties.

The tariff threat has disrupted existing trade arrangements, leading to reduced imports of gasoline and diesel and prompting long queues at service stations nationwide. With limited domestic refining capacity, Cuba now relies heavily on foreign oil deliveries, and the uncertainty created by the U.S. stance has heightened the scarcity, further straining an economy already burdened by sanctions, reduced tourism revenue, and a shortage of hard currency.