{"id":2437,"date":"2026-08-07T10:12:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2437"},"modified":"2026-08-07T10:12:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:12:44","slug":"as-blackouts-stretch-for-days-life-in-cuba-revolves-around-small-bursts-of-electricity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2437","title":{"rendered":"As blackouts stretch for days, life in Cuba revolves around small bursts of electricity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HAVANA (AP) \u2014 A 20-minute burst of electricity is a small miracle in Havana<\/span> nowadays \u2014 a miracle that sometimes comes at 3 a.m. <\/p>\n

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That\u2019s when 72-year-old Leidis Rodr\u00edguez frantically cooked beans after the lights switched on this week following hours of uninterrupted blackouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe power has come back on, everyone go!\u201d Rodr\u00edguez shouted.<\/p>\n

In the wake of sometimes dayslong blackouts in Cuba \u2014 fueled by the oil blockade<\/span> imposed by the Trump administration in January<\/span> \u2014 Cubans are planning their lives around the lights turning back on. <\/p>\n

Those small bursts of relief last a few minutes or a few hours. They come at any time, day or night. Increasingly, electricity flicks on when Rodr\u00edguez and her 41-year-old daughter, Yaimara Matos, would normally be asleep.<\/p>\n

When the power comes on, the family stops everything they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to do everything at the same time \u2014 wash clothes, iron, cook, tidy the rooms, because it\u2019s impossible in the dark, and even get a little relief from the heat,\u201d Matos said. \u201cWhat we used to do in 10 hours, we now have to do in two.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Life transformed by crisis<\/h2>\n

That\u2019s the case for Cubans across the island, whose lives have been transformed by one of the worst crises<\/span> the island has seen since the Cuban revolution. Daily life has turned into a tangle of compounding crises families have to unravel.<\/p>\n

Public transportation<\/span> and cultural events have come to a standstill. So has tourism, the country\u2019s economic engine, especially as tourism companies have withdrawn<\/span>, leaving 25,000 hospitality jobs vacant. Flights to the island are regularly canceled and workdays have been shortened to adjust to the new reality of a Cuba without power. Medicine shortages<\/span> have worsened and food<\/span> rots in fridges without power.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s no electricity, there\u2019s no water because it doesn\u2019t get pumped to the tank. When there\u2019s water, there\u2019s no electricity,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez lamented.<\/p>\n

Power outages are nothing new to the Caribbean nation. Endemic blackouts began to worsen five years ago as a result of a crumbling energy grid, decades-long U.S. sanctions and failed economic reforms by the communist-run government. <\/p>\n

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But the quality of life began to rapidly deteriorate when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a tariff<\/span> on any goods from countries that sell or provide it with oil, Cuba\u2019s main source of power. The move, combined with even more rigid sanctions, was aimed at pressuring Cuba\u2019s government into political change. The worst effects have been felt by average Cubans.<\/p>\n

Previously, most blackouts were scheduled by the government to save power, so each family knew how long they would be without electricity \u2014 usually two or three hours. Now there is no longer any predictability: an outage can last 12 hours, 30 hours or longer. Increasingly, the entire island goes dark. Last weekend\u2019s grid collapse marked the sixth time this year.<\/p>\n

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\u2018I try to carry on with life\u2019<\/h2>\n

Cubans like Rodr\u00edguez and Matos, long accustomed to adapting to crisis, have found ways to cope. The family bought a small power generator, which they\u2019re only able to run a few hours a day. <\/p>\n

Others install solar panels \u2014 often sent by relatives abroad. Some purchase rechargeable fans or solar-powered vehicles since gasoline is also unavailable.<\/p>\n

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