The more immediate concern in Havana Tuesday was getting the lights back on.
In Havana, which is home to 1.7 million people, some neighbourhoods had power.
“What we fear all the time is that the blackout will drag on and we will lose the little bit that we have in the fridge, because everything is so expensive,” said Olga Suarez, a 64-year-old retiree.
“Otherwise we are used to it because here almost all the time you go to bed and wake up without electricity,” she told AFP.
Cuba’s ageing electricity generation system is in shambles, with daily power outages of up to 20 hours the norm in parts of the island, which lacks the fuel needed to generate power.
But since the US ouster of Cuba’s top ally, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, on Jan 3, the island’s economy has been hammered further as Trump maintains a de facto oil blockade.
No oil has been imported to the island since Jan 9, hitting the power sector while also forcing airlines to curtail flights to the island, a blow to the all-important tourism sector.
In a bid to relieve economic pressure – and meet US demands – a senior economic official in Cuba announced Monday that Cuban exiles would now be able to invest and own businesses there.
