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Miguel Díaz-Canel took to his Facebook account this Saturday to address the new collapse of the Nationwide Electric Power System (SEN), which occurred on Friday, and described the recovery as a "very complex process, under the genocidal oil blockade," while hundreds of Cubans responded with direct criticisms of the leader in the comments section.
In his Facebook post, the leader stated that "the new drop in the SEN, with very few days in between, adds tension to the recovery, but the electrical workers are not giving up," and he reported that there were already thermal power plants starting up, others synchronizing, and increasing loads.
He closed the message with the hashtag "#CubaIsNotAThreat, the United States is."
Díaz-Canel's post garnered over 1,000 reactions and 555 comments, most of which were critical.
Several users criticized the leader for having electricity at home while the people endure blackouts: "If there’s power in your house, everything you say is a lie," wrote one. Another pointed out: "Pipo, I can resist quite easily, but from your house."
Indignation also targeted the management of infrastructure: “If repairs had been done regularly, even with this oil blockade, the thermoelectric plants wouldn't be in such bad shape... but well, it was better to build hotels and more hotels,” wrote a user.
Another comment captured the feelings of many: "Here, no one gives up, but we do want a government that addresses the people's problems and talks much less."
There were those who were more straightforward: "Hand over power and the siege will end, that is what all of Cuba is asking for," wrote one user. Another noted: "A new achievement of the revolution: bringing Cubans back to the Stone Age. In the third decade of the 21st century, they cook with firewood, use animal transport, and have two hours of electricity for every 48 hours of blackout."
The blackout on Friday was the fourth total collapse of the SEN in 2026 and the eighth in the last 24 months, according to data from the dossier tracking the Cuban energy crisis.
The technical trigger was a failure in the 220 kV transmission line between Santa Clara and Sancti Spíritus, which triggered a cascading disconnection starting at 15:55 and left approximately 73% of the country without electricity, affecting around 10 million people.
The energy deficit at the time of the collapse exceeded 2,100 MW: only 935 MW available against a demand of 3,100 MW, with 106 distributed generation plants shut down due to lack of fuel.
The collapse came just four days after the total blackout on July 6, caused by the unexpected shutdown of Unit No. 6 at the Nuevitas thermoelectric power plant in Camagüey.
In Matanzas, the outages had exceeded 87 consecutive hours; in Havana, the average was 15 hours daily without electricity.
The fall on Friday also interrupted the synchronization of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant in Matanzas, which was in the process of being restored. This plant has not received major maintenance since 2010 and has recorded 17 system outages so far in 2026.
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz attributed the blackouts to the U.S. embargo, describing the crisis as "genocide," while Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla dismissed internal causes and reiterated the narrative of an "energy siege."
The blackout also coincided with the eve of the fifth anniversary of the protests on July 11, 2021, the largest popular mobilizations in Cuba in decades, which were partly triggered by the blackouts.
In June 2026, 107 street protests were recorded on the island, nearly double the previous maximum, and on July 9, at least 24 people were arrested following a protest in Luyanó, Havana.
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