HAVANA (AP) 鈥� A 20-minute burst of electricity is a small miracle in nowadays 鈥� a miracle that sometimes comes at 3 a.m.
That’s when 72-year-old Leidis Rodr铆guez frantically cooked beans after the lights switched on this week following hours of uninterrupted blackouts.
鈥淭he power has come back on, everyone go!鈥� Rodr铆guez shouted.
In the wake of sometimes dayslong blackouts in Cuba 鈥� fueled by the imposed by the 鈥� Cubans are planning their lives around the lights turning back on.
Those small bursts of relief last a few minutes or a few hours. They come at any time, day or night. Increasingly, electricity flicks on when Rodr铆guez and her 41-year-old daughter, Yaimara Matos, would normally be asleep.
When the power comes on, the family stops everything they’re doing.
鈥淵ou want to do everything at the same time 鈥� wash clothes, iron, cook, tidy the rooms, because it鈥檚 impossible in the dark, and even get a little relief from the heat,” Matos said. 鈥淲hat we used to do in 10 hours, we now have to do in two.鈥�
Life transformed by crisis
That鈥檚 the case for Cubans across the island, whose the island has seen since the Cuban revolution. Daily life has turned into a tangle of compounding crises families have to unravel.
and cultural events have come to a standstill. So has tourism, the country’s economic engine, especially as , leaving 25,000 hospitality jobs vacant. Flights to the island are regularly canceled and workdays have been shortened to adjust to the new reality of a Cuba without power. have worsened and rots in fridges without power.
“If there鈥檚 no electricity, there鈥檚 no water because it doesn鈥檛 get pumped to the tank. When there鈥檚 water, there鈥檚 no electricity,鈥� Rodr铆guez lamented.
Power outages are nothing new to the Caribbean nation. Endemic blackouts began to worsen five years ago as a result of a crumbling energy grid, decades-long U.S. sanctions and failed economic reforms by the communist-run government.
But the quality of life began to rapidly deteriorate when U.S. President Donald Trump on any goods from countries that sell or provide it with oil, Cuba’s main source of power. The move, combined with even more rigid sanctions, was aimed at pressuring Cuba’s government into political change. The worst effects have been felt by average Cubans.
Previously, most blackouts were scheduled by the government to save power, so each family knew how long they would be without electricity 鈥� usually two or three hours. Now there is no longer any predictability: an outage can last 12 hours, 30 hours or longer. Increasingly, the entire island goes dark. Last weekend’s grid collapse marked the sixth time this year.
鈥業 try to carry on with life鈥�
Cubans like Rodr铆guez and Matos, long accustomed to adapting to crisis, have found ways to cope. The family bought a small power generator, which they’re only able to run a few hours a day.
Others install solar panels 鈥� often sent by relatives abroad. Some purchase rechargeable fans or solar-powered vehicles since gasoline is also unavailable.
Lianet Barroso once cooked with a gas stove. Now she cooks over a wood fire. Unsure of when she will next get water when the power does go on, she fills up as many plastic bottles as she can.
鈥淟ife for Cubans has become difficult, harsh and sad,鈥� Barroso said.
In several municipalities, particularly in Havana, after blackouts lasting more than 48 hours, banging pots and pans and burning garbage piled up on street corners.
Meanwhile, with inflation surging as Cuba’s currency is increasingly devalued against the dollar, many people are struggling to even pay for food that could later go bad in a blackout.
At 10 p.m. on Tuesday, 64-year-old Caridad Delgado was preparing food for her cat during a blackout under the light of a rechargeable lamp, something the family bought with remittances from her three children, who had emigrated from the island.
Months ago at this hour, she said, 鈥� I鈥檇 probably be watching a soap opera. Now I can鈥檛 even dream of it.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 just too much anguish, too much desperation,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 try to carry on with life.鈥�
鈥斺赌�
Associated Press writers Megan Janetsky in Mexico City and Milexsy Dur谩n and Ariel Fern谩ndez in Havana contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
