WorldCuba's electrical grid suffered a partial collapse early on Thursday morning, the country's grid operator UNE said, snuffing out power across eastern Cuba and testing the patience of Cubans already exhausted ‌from seemingly interminable blackouts amid a U.S. fuel blockade.Vast majority of Cubans have power for just a few hours a day amid frequent blackoutsThomson Reuters · Posted: May 14, 2026 4:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 14Listen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Ana Maria Vazquez makes coffee at her Havana home on Thursday, a day in which Cuba's electrical grid suffered a partial collapse. (Norlys Perez/Reuters)Cuba's electrical grid suffered a partial collapse early on Thursday morning, the country's grid operator UNE said, snuffing out power across eastern Cuba and testing the patience of Cubans already exhausted ‌from seemingly interminable blackouts amid a U.S. fuel blockade.By mid-morning officials had restored power to some essential services in the region, the grid operator said, though much of Cuba east of ​Camaguey, including the island's second-largest city, Santiago de ​Cuba, remained largely without electricity.The Caribbean island of nearly 10 million people has reached a tipping point this month, as ​summer heat sets in and the vast majority — including in ⁠the capital Havana — ⁠now suffer without electricity for 20 hours ‌or more each day.WATCH | U.S.-imposed oil blockade has affected nearly every part of Cuban life:Why some Cubans see a brighter future beyond oil blockadeMarch 30|Duration 3:31Cubans have been living through power outages since the start of a U.S.-imposed oil blockade three months ago. For The National, CBC’s Jorge Barrera goes to the island to gauge how it’s changed daily life and how they view the future. The blackouts dramatically worsened in January after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any nation supplying the island with fuel. Venezuela and Mexico, once the country's top suppliers ⁠of crude oil, have since cut off shipments.Trump has predicted Cuba would "collapse" and has said he wants to oust the current communist-run government.Cuba's energy and mines ‌minister said on Wednesday that the island had completely run out of fuel oil and diesel, both critical to powering the island's electrical grid, and blamed blackouts on the U.S. blockade.Protests in HavanaWidespread protests broke ​out across Havana on Wednesday evening as the power cuts in some parts of the city ⁠spanned 24 hours or more, threatening to spoil frozen food reserves and making ⁠sleep all but impossible for many residents.A classic car is seen driving in Havana on Wednesday near a barricade set up by residents protesting against prolonged power outages. (Ramon Espinosa/The Associated Press)"The country has no fuel ⁠and ⁠that's no lie," said ​Rodolfo Aragon, a 55-year-old small business owner who said he saw little hope for ​the future amid Cuba's ⁠conflict with the United States. "Our economy has hit rock bottom."The United Nations last week called Trump's fuel blockade unlawful, saying it had obstructed the "Cuban people’s right to development while undermining their rights to food, education, health, and water and sanitation."