Cuba Power Grid Collapses! Trump Vows to ‘Take’ Island

As the Cuba power grid collapses Donald Trump declared that he expects to have “the honor of taking Cuba” — the same day the island’s national electricity system suffered a complete collapse, plunging all 11 million residents into darkness amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has brought the communist state to its knees.

“I do believe I’ll be having the honour of taking Cuba,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Whether I free it, take it — I think I could do anything I want with it. They’re a very weakened nation right now.” The remarks landed as state-owned grid operator Union Nacional Electrica de Cuba announced a complete disconnection of the national system, with no mechanical faults detected in operating units at the time of the collapse.

Cuba Power Grid Breaks Under Oil Embargo

The Cuba power grid has been deteriorating for years, but Washington’s fuel blockade has accelerated its collapse dramatically. No oil has been imported to Cuba since January 9 amid the US pressure campaign, with Reuters reporting that only two small vessels carrying oil reached the island this year. Cuba produces roughly 40 percent of its own petroleum, but that output is nowhere near sufficient to sustain demand across an already crumbling generation infrastructure.

The cascade of consequences extends well beyond the lights going out. Fuel prices have skyrocketed so much that gas can cost as much as $9 a liter on the unofficial market — meaning filling a car’s tank costs more than most Cubans earn in an entire year. Hospitals are rationing medical supplies. Food is spoiling. A 71-year-old Havana resident named Mercedes Velazquez told the Associated Press she recently gave away soup she had just made so it would not go to waste. “Everything goes bad,” she said.

The crisis traces directly to the fall of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the US moved against that country in early January and arrested its then-president. Trump subsequently threatened tariffs on any country supplying Cuba with fuel, causing Mexico to temporarily halt shipments in late January as well.

Regime Change Confirmed as Washington’s Goal

The Trump administration is looking for Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel to leave power as the United States continues to negotiate with the Cuban government, according to a US official and a source with knowledge of the talks, as reported by NPR. However, no details have emerged about who Washington would like to see replace him — raising comparisons to the Venezuela scenario, where a leader was removed but the surrounding regime structure remained largely intact.

Key facts about the Cuba crisis:

• Complete national grid collapse on March 16, affecting all 11 million Cubans
• No significant oil imports since January 9, 2026
• Díaz-Canel confirmed diplomatic talks with the US on March 13
• Cuba agreed to release 51 political prisoners as an initial concession
• Protesters vandalized a Communist Party office in Morón, with 14 arrests following

American University professor William LeoGrande, who has tracked Cuba for decades, warned that without oil shipments the island could struggle along for a while by reducing consumption, but that “it would be constant misery for the general population, and eventually the economy could collapse just completely and then you would have social chaos and probably mass migration.”

Whether Trump’s endgame is liberation, annexation, or a managed regime transition remains deliberately unclear. When pressed Monday on whether a US military operation in Cuba would resemble January’s capture of Maduro in Venezuela or the ongoing conflict with Iran, Trump told reporters: “I can’t tell you that.” While the Cuba power grid collapses the island looks towards a very uncertain future.