Cuba rushes to revive electricity as Trump hints at potential seizure of control

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Cuba scrambled Tuesday to restore power after a nationwide blackout that hit the communist-run island just as US President Donald Trump proclaimed he will “take” it over.

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The government did not specify what caused the latest of Cuba’s frequent power outages but said that as of Tuesday morning two-thirds of the country had electricity again.

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Adding another scare, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Cuba early Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

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After nearly seven decades defying the United States, Havana’s communist authorities are under massive pressure from a Trump administration determined to make history.

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“You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.

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“I do believe I’ll be…having the honor of taking Cuba,” Trump said.

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“Whether I free it, take it — think I could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now.”

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It was one of Trump’s most explicit threats yet against the island nation just 90 miles (150 km) off the coast of Florida.

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The more immediate concern in Havana Tuesday was getting the lights back on.

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In Havana, which is home to 1.7 million people, some neighborhoods had power.

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“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.

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“Otherwise we are used to it because here almost all the time you go to bed and wake up without electricity,” she told AFP.

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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.

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But since the US ouster of Cuba’s top ally, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, on January 3, the island’s economy has been hammered further as Trump maintains a de facto oil blockade.

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No oil has been imported to the island since January 9, hitting the power sector while also forcing airlines to curtail flights to the island, a blow to the all-important tourism sector.

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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.

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