Havana, Feb 5,(V7N) — A major power grid failure plunged large parts of eastern Cuba into darkness on Wednesday night, cutting electricity to four provinces, including the country’s second-largest city, Santiago de Cuba, utility officials said.

“At this time, the provinces of Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo are without electric service,” the state-owned Union Eléctrica de Cuba (UNE) announced in a post on X.

The blackout highlights the ongoing fragility of Cuba’s electricity system, which has suffered from frequent and prolonged outages in recent years. After more than six decades under a United States embargo, the island’s aging power infrastructure remains in poor condition and heavily dependent on imported fuel.

Concerns have grown further after US President Donald Trump recently threatened to cut off Cuba’s access to heavily subsidized oil supplies from socialist ally Venezuela, a move that could deepen the country’s chronic energy shortages.

Authorities did not immediately say when full power would be restored to the affected provinces.

END/WD/RH