The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, stated in an interview with PBS NewsHour that he and other government officials live with only about 2.5 to three hours of electricity per day, cannot refrigerate food, and at times lack access to drinking water.
The interview —conducted by journalist Amna Nawaz from PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), the American public television network, and published this Wednesday— took place during the Deputy Foreign Minister's visit to Washington for the United Nations General Assembly.
El viceministro respondió que las afirmaciones sobre el avión privado y las 17 propiedades de la familia Castro son «totalmente» falsas, al tiempo que rechazó la existencia de cualquier privilegio que separe a los dirigentes de la realidad que vive el pueblo.
This is not the first time Fernández de Cossío has resorted to this argument. In October 2025, he already stated in a interview about power outages that in his home, the disruptions occur "every four hours" and that he and his family feel "the urge to protest."
Sobre la crisis energética, el funcionario atribuyó la situación a la política de presión de Washington y la calificó de «castigo colectivo» y «crimen internacional».
"The policy of the United States aims to impose a collective punishment to induce a humanitarian crisis in Cuba," he stated, adding that the suffering of Cubans "is not collateral damage; it is the objective of the policy."
Fernández de Cossío supported the human impact of blackouts with examples: families with sick individuals who cannot be transported to the hospital, surgeries postponed due to a lack of power, and newborns whose lives depend on machines that shut off. However, he overlooked the structural causes of the national energy collapse and the responsibility of the regime he represents in the crisis.
This Thursday, the electrical deficit in Cuba was around 2,120 MW against a projected demand of about 3,200 MW, with an availability of only 1,020 MW. Throughout 2026, there have been power outages lasting 20 to 26 consecutive hours in Havana and over 40 hours in other provinces; additionally, the National Electric System (SEN) has experienced at least seven total disconnections that have left the entire country in widespread blackout.
En cuanto a las relaciones bilaterales, Fernández de Cossío señaló que Cuba mantiene canales de comunicación con EE.UU. pero que no hay avance, dado que Washington anuncia nuevas sanciones «prácticamente cada semana o cada 10 o 15 días».
He rejected the threats of a "takeover" of Cuba by President Donald Trump as unacceptable for a sovereign nation, although he acknowledged that ignoring them would be naive: "U.S. officials are constantly asked if that is on the table, and they respond that nothing is off the table."
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