Massive blackout hits Cuba after entire power grid fails; communist government blames the US
The entire island country of Cuba was plunged into darkness on Friday after a major power plant failed, the state energy minister confirmed.
Severe power shortages had already forced the communist government to limit electricity use in an attempt to spare the power grid. State workers were sent home and non-essential industry as well as schools were shut down.
'We went to a restaurant and they had no food because there was no power, now we are also without internet.'
Despite the last-ditch effort by the government, the Antonio Guiteras thermonuclear power plant near Havana failed Friday, though officials did not say what led to the failure.
The blackout has affected about 10 million people in Cuba.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero blamed the worsening energy situation on deteriorating infrastructure and U.S. embargoes that hindered the country's efforts to obtain spare parts and fuel.
"The complex scenario is caused primarily by the intensification of the economic war and financial and energy persecution of the United States," said Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council denied the accusation.
"The United States is not to blame for today's blackout on the island, or the overall energy situation in Cuba," the spokesperson said.
The blackout is also affecting tourism in Cuba, as shops and nightclubs were ordered to close.
“We went to a restaurant and they had no food because there was no power, now we are also without internet," said Carlos Roberto Julio, a tourist from Brazil. "In two days, we have already had several problems.”
The power plant was named after Antonio Guiteras y Holmes, a communist revolutionary born in Pennsylvania who died fighting to overthrow the Cuban government in 1935.
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