Cuba Reconnects Power Grid After Power Outage Hits Western Provinces

Are U.S. sanctions strangling Cuba's power grid, or has communist mismanagement caused the infrastructure collapse?

Published DEC 5 2025

Cuba Reconnects Power Grid After Power Outage Hits Western Provinces

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Above: Pedestrians walk past a turned-off traffic light on a street in Havana on Dec. 3, 2025. Image credit: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Cuba's blackouts stem from decades of communist central planning failures that have created an inefficient electrical system that is now crumbling. Central planners cannot produce reliable electricity because they lack the market incentives and competition that drive innovation and proper resource allocation. The government's cash-strapped system diverts scarce resources to disaster relief instead of long-term infrastructure investment, creating a vicious cycle of neglect and failure.

The Heritage Foundation

Establishment-critical narrative

U.S. sanctions have pulped Cuba's economy and directly caused the blackouts by cutting off financial institutions, blocking fuel payments and destroying tourism through American terror designations. The decades-long blockade manufactured a cash-scarce economy where even exempt imports like medication can't be purchased because banks refuse transactions. This economic warfare is the root cause of Cuba's infrastructure collapse, not government mismanagement.

FAIR

Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

Massive power outage hits Cubas western region after transmission line fails