NEW: Cuba Suffers ‘Total Blackout’ Amid US Blockade As Communist Government Faces Collapse

Cuba plunged into a nationwide blackout Monday as the island’s collapsing power grid and grinding economic crisis pushed the communist government closer to the edge.

Officials said the lights went out across the country of roughly 11 million after what the Ministry of Energy and Mines described on X as a “complete disconnection” of the electrical system. The ministry said it was investigating and stressed there were no failures in the units that were operating when the grid fell apart.

State media late Monday aired comments from Lázaro Guerra, the ministry’s electricity director, who said crews were trying to restart several thermoelectric plants, a key step to restoring service.

“It must be done gradually to avoid setbacks,” he said. “Because systems, when very weak, are more susceptible to failure.”

The outage marked the third major islandwide blackout in four months, a brutal reminder of what happens when decades of communist central planning collide with aging infrastructure and empty coffers.

As night fell in Havana, some families turned to candles and whatever air they could find. In one dark home, a mother tried to make the best of it for her kids.

“We have to prepare a mattress for the girls here so that they can sleep here because we have no choice,” said Yuneici Cecilia Riviaux. “I don’t have a rechargeable fan or a generator.”

For many Cubans, the outages have become more than an inconvenience. They are a breaking point. Tomás David Velázquez Felipe, a 61-year-old Havana resident, said the constant blackouts are a signal to leave if you can.

“What little we have to eat spoils,” he said. “Our people are too old to keep suffering.”

By Monday night, state-run media said power had been restored to about 5% of Havana’s residents, around 42,000 customers, along with several hospitals around the island. Officials said they would prioritize communications next, while warning the small circuits brought back online could fail again.

Cuba’s leaders have blamed their crisis on Washington, pointing to what they call a U.S. energy blockade after President Donald Trump warned in January about tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The Trump administration has demanded Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in exchange for relief.

Trump did not mince words this week about how weak he believes the regime has become.

On Monday, he said he believes he’ll have the “honor of taking Cuba.”

“I mean, whether I free it, take it. I think I could do anything I want with it,” Trump said, calling Cuba a “very weakened nation.”

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Behind the scenes, U.S. officials say Washington wants Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel out as talks continue over the island’s future. The administration’s desire to see Díaz-Canel leave power has been confirmed by a U.S. official and a source with knowledge of the talks, both speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions.

Analysts say the grid’s collapse has been years in the making. William LeoGrande, a professor at American University who has tracked Cuba for years, said the system hasn’t been maintained and its infrastructure is worn out.

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“The technicians working on the grid are magicians to keep it running at all given the shape that it’s in,” LeoGrande said.

Even daily life has become a constant race against spoilage and sickness. Yaimisel Sánchez Peña, 48, said she’s fed up watching food bought with money her son sends from the U.S. go bad, and she worries about her elderly mother.

“Every day, she suffers,” she said.

Another resident, Mercedes Velázquez, 71, summed up the grim normal.

“We’re here waiting to see what happens,” she said. “Everything goes bad.”

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