DONALD TRUMP THREATENS TO ‘TAKE’ CUBA AS ISLAND GRAPPLES WITH NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT

Tue 17 March 2026:

Cuba has not received oil shipments since early January amid US pressure, worsening the humanitarian crisis on the island.

United States President Donald Trump has promised to take over Cuba as the island nation plunged into total darkness after its national power grid collapsed amid an ongoing oil blockade imposed by Washington.

“You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.

“I do believe I’ll be… having the honour of taking Cuba,” Trump said.

“Whether I free it, take it – think I could do anything I want with it. You want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now.”

There was no immediate comment from Havana on Trump’s comments.

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The threat comes amid a total blackout on the Caribbean island, with Union Nacional Electrica de Cuba (UNE) announcing that the “complete shutdown of the national grid” has left the nation of 10 million without power. The state-owned company said it was working to restore electricity flows.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines also noted a “complete disconnection” of the country’s electrical system on X and said it was investigating, noting there were no failures in the units that were operating when the grid collapsed.

State media later reported that crews had restored power to 5 percent of Havana’s residents, representing some 42,000 customers, as well as several hospitals across the island. Officials said they would prioritise the communications sector next, all while warning that the small circuits restored so far could fail again.

It was the third major blackout in Cuba over the past four months.

Cuba’s ageing grid has drastically eroded in recent years, leading to daily outages and an increase in island-wide blackouts. But the government has also blamed its woes on a US energy blockade after Trump, in January, warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.

His administration has openly said it is seeking regime change in Communist-led Cuba.

No oil has been imported to Cuba since January 9, amid the US pressure campaign.

The Reuters news agency reported that Cuba has received only two small vessels carrying oil imports this year, citing SEG ship-tracking data it reviewed.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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