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On the eleventh National Defense Day, Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the Antonio Guiteras area in East Havana and emphasized "the need to take advantage of all the potentials of the municipality."
He referred to food production and the importance of ensuring materials for cooking these, "from charcoal to firewood".
1. The same phrase, two years in a row
The phrase is neither new nor coincidental. The leader summarizes with brutal clarity the state of energy and economic collapse in Cuba in 2026.
Díaz-Canel made this call to cook with firewood nearly word for word on May 22, 2025, during a visit to the municipalities of Manicaragua and Cifuentes in Villa Clara.
This confirms that there were no results last year, and there is no solution in sight for the current crisis.
A deficit of 2,040 MW
On March 14, 2026, the electricity deficit reached 2,040 megawatts: the system had only 1,000 MW available against a demand exceeding 3,000 MW.
On March 7, the impact reached 2,046 MW, which led to protests in Havana and Matanzas. The population was without electricity for up to 24 hours in the capital.
3. Six nationwide blackouts in 18 months
Cuba has experienced at least six nationwide blackouts between October 2024 and March 2026: October 2024, November 2024 (Hurricane Rafael), December 2024, March 2025, September 2025, and two during the week of March 16 to 22, 2026.
Nine of the 16 thermoelectric units in the country are out of service due to obsolescence and lack of maintenance.
4. The 29-hour blackout of March 19
The blackout that began on March 16 lasted approximately 29 and a half hours, affecting 62% of the territory at its peak.
On March 22, a total collapse of the national electrical system occurred at 6:38 PM due to a failure in unit 6 of the Nuevitas thermoelectric power plant in Camagüey, resulting in a cascading effect.
5. Venezuelan and Mexican oil stopped arriving
Cuba produces about 40,000 barrels daily of oil but needs over 110,000 to meet its demand. Venezuela, which had been sending 60,000 barrels a day, halted its shipments following the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026.
Mexico, which was sending about 17,200 barrels daily and was the main supplier, suspended its shipments in February 2026 under the pressure of the Executive Order 14380 signed by Donald Trump on January 29, 2026. Oil imports fell to zero in January 2026 for the first time in a decade.
6. The economy contracts by 7.2% in 2026
The Economist Intelligence Unit projects a 7.2% contraction of Cuba's GDP by 2026. The economy had already contracted by 5% in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of decline, totaling more than a 15% drop since 2020.
Cuba and Haiti were the only countries in Latin America to experience contraction in 2025, while the regional average grew by 2.4%.
7. No water in Havana del Este
In the same municipality that Díaz-Canel visited yesterday, the water supply is "one of the main issues" facing the population. The president of the Municipal Defense Council, Maikel Pérez Valdés, acknowledged before Díaz-Canel that the service is "greatly diminished" because power outages paralyze the pumping stations of the three major pipelines that supply the area.
The complete recovery of the Cuban electrical system would require between 8 billion and 10 billion dollars, a figure that experts say is completely beyond the reach of the island's economy.
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