Cuban Authorities Claim Guantánamo Is Fully Electrified, "Blackouts Excluded"

The official newspaper of Guantánamo, Venceremos, recently published an article where the Cuban authorities declare the province "fully electrified," with a caveat that highlights the contradiction: "excluding blackouts, which are induced by the genocidal blockade against Cuba."

The official report states that the electrical service now reaches all 181,765 customers registered by the Basic Electric Organization (OBE), in addition to residents of 336 isolated homes in remote areas that received 2 kW photovoltaic panels donated by China as part of the Home Solar Equipment Assistance Project for Cuba.

The irony of this announcement is hard to overlook: just two days before its publication, the entire province of Guantánamo was left without power for more than 24 hours due to the failure of the 110 kV line connecting it to Santiago de Cuba.

Residents reported continuous blackouts lasting 29 hours in the Reparto Obrero area and up to 33 hours in neighboring zones during last Thursday's outage.

Chronic Power Issues Undermine Claims

On June 7, the provincial electric company itself acknowledged eight damaged transformers with no available replacements, causing municipalities like Imías, San Antonio del Sur, Jamal, and Maisí to endure up to 20 hours daily without service.

Back in April, Guantánamo residents staged protests by banging pots and pans, complaining that they only had electricity for 45 minutes to an hour each day.

Solar Panels: The Technical Backbone

Solar panels are the technical basis for this triumphant announcement. The municipalities benefiting the most from these installations were Imías with 87 systems, Manuel Tames with 79, and Maisí with 49.

Manuel Taboni Joubert, an investment specialist at the Electric Union in Guantánamo, told Venceremos that the new customers were informed about how the equipment operates. "These devices have arrived to improve the lives of people who have never had access to electricity before," he emphasized.

The Historical Context and Misallocation

The authorities link this achievement to Fidel Castro's Moncada Program, which in 1953 promised "the possibility of bringing electricity to the farthest corners of the Island." The official article concludes, "In Guantánamo, it's a reality."

The panels are part of a batch of 5,000 photovoltaic systems donated by China in November 2025, valued at over $114 million. However, the Cuban government reallocated 2,671 of these systems to "vital centers" in 168 municipalities, including 240 units for the telecommunications company ETECSA, rather than exclusively for rural homes.

The electrical crisis, which the regime blames on the U.S. embargo, has well-documented structural causes: outdated infrastructure, chronic fuel shortages, and decades of mismanagement. On May 14, a national electricity deficit record was set, with only 976 MW available against a demand for 3,150 MW, leaving 70% of the country without power simultaneously.

In the past 18 months, Cuba has endured at least seven total collapses of the National Electric System, with the longest blackout occurring on March 16, 2026, lasting 29 hours and 29 minutes nationwide.