Headline Roundup • March 17th, 2026
Cuba Loses Power, Trump Escalates Rhetoric on 'Taking' It
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Cuba's national power grid went down on Monday, leaving about 10 million residents without power, according to the country's operators.
The Details: Most of the country was left in total darkness, but authorities began gradually restoring power as of Monday evening. Trump has also escalated his rhetoric towards Cuba this week. The president said, "I do believe I'll [have] the honor of taking Cuba. Taking Cuba in some form, whether I free it, take it, I can do anything I want."
For Context: Cuba has faced outages and major blackouts in recent months. In late January, President Trump signed an executive order that designated Cuba "an unusual and extraordinary threat" and paved the way for the US to impose tariffs on foreign countries that "sell or otherwise provide any oil to Cuba." In the January operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, US forces killed 32 Cuban military personnel. In December and January, the US seized oil tankers destined for Cuba.
How The Media Covered It: Several outlets, though mostly international ones, like Britain's The Guardian (Left bias), Germany's DW News (Center), and Qatar's Al Jazeera (Lean Left), noted the US oil blockade in headlines. Associated Press (Left) emphasized Cuba's reportedly eroding infrastructure and wrote, "But the government also has blamed its woes on a U.S. energy blockade." Fox News (Right) mentioned a couple of times that there were anti-government demonstrations in Cuba last week, which it called "rare." NBC News (Lean Left) published on-the-ground reporting that emphasized the direness of the humanitarian conditions in Cuba. BBC News (Center) and AP included similar reporting in their coverage.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
AFP via Getty Images
Millions in Cuba have been left without power after the national electricity grid collapsed on Monday, the country's power operator says.
Much of the island including the capital, Havana, was plunged into darkness, with streets only illuminated by headlamps and battery-powered lights on Monday.
UNE, Cuba's grid operator, said early on Tuesday morning that it was gradually restoring electricity to provinces and cities around the country.
Cuba plunged into an unprecedented blackout after its entire electrical grid suddenly suffered a total collapse on Monday, briefly leaving roughly 10 million residents in total darkness.
"At 1:54 p.m. local time, there was a disconnection of the national electrical grid resulting in a complete power outage across Cuba which includes the Havana metropolitan area," the U.S. Embassy in Cuba said.
Officials in Cuba reported an islandwide blackout Monday in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen and its power grid continues to crumble.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines on X noted a "complete disconnection" of the country's electrical system and said it was investigating, noting there were no failures in the units that were operating when the grid collapsed.
Lázaro Guerra, the ministry's electricity director, told state media late Monday that crews were trying to restart several thermoelectric plants, which are key...
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