HAVANA (AP) 鈥� Alexey R铆os Garc铆a awoke not to his bed in ‘s capital on Monday, but to an ocean breeze and the concrete of Havana’s famous seaside boulevard.
The 30-year-old construction worker ended up curling up with other Cubans on the city’s sea wall, the Malec贸n, in a desperate attempt to escape the suffocating summer heat during yet another islandwide blackout.
Sunday night marked the sixth since Trump administration effectively cut Cuba off from oil 鈥� its main energy source 鈥� in January. The move plunged the endemically crisis-stricken country into free-fall. While authorities on Monday said they were working to get the power back on, much of the island still had no electricity.
The energy grid collapses have left people like R铆os Garc铆a with fewer options to get by as the U.S. against the communist-led government.
“Things are only getting worse. Tomorrow it鈥檒l collapse again … and we鈥檒l be back to sleeping on the Malec贸n,鈥� said R铆os Garc铆a, who used a piece of yellow foam as a pillow to cushion his head from the tough concrete.
The recurring power outages combined with the stifling heat have created collective insomnia on the island as residents struggle to get through the night. While some like R铆os Garc铆a have slept on the boulevard, others struggle to get some rest on balconies and front porches.
The day of the latest blackout on Sunday, the temperature hit 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 Celsius), but ended up feeling like 106 F when combined with the Caribbean’s 80% humidity levels.
It marks just one of a growing number of struggles on the Caribbean island where day-to-day life has grown increasingly difficult since the U.S. on any goods from countries that sell or provide it with oil. That was a debilitating blow after decades of U.S. economic sanctions, with the island’s infrastructure crumbling and a surge in migration.
Multiple outages since March
Sunday’s latest total blackout confirmed by the state-run energy company came after sweeping outages across western Cuba, including the cities of Pinar del R铆o, Matanzas and Havana the day before.
Energy authorities reported two nationwide grid collapses in March and three in July, along with several partial outages.
Rolling blackouts now last more than 20 hours a day. Obtaining gas and basic goods have become daylong endeavors. Cubans worry about precious food like frozen chicken rotting in their fridges without power. The island鈥檚 once , leaving even fewer with a source of income allowing them to get by. With little fuel, public transportation in Havana has Hospitals have been left reeling and have sought to install solar panels to keep the lights on.
Cubans have long displayed a characteristic resilience to hardship, adapting to twists and turns and unexpected shortages after decades of living under a U.S. trade embargo. But in recent months and years, a sense of hopelessness has increasingly gripped those still remaining on the island.
Among them was 30-year-old physical education teacher Elaine Delis Ramos, who curled up next to loved ones on the boardwalk on top of a thick blanket in search of a breeze.
鈥淛ust when we start hoping (the energy grid) wouldn’t collapse again, there it goes again,” she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any solution.鈥�
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