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By Andrew Stanton
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Cuban officials reported an island-wide blackout on Monday as the nation's economic crisis worsened amid an energy blockade by the United States.
President Donald Trump commented on the country's dire conditions on Monday saying: "I do believe I'll be having the honor of taking Cuba. That's a big honor. Taking Cuba in some form.
“Whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth. They are a very weakened nation right now,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday."
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He has previously threatened a "friendly takeover" of the Socialist island - a long-time foe of the US- while Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News earlier this month: "This communist dictatorship in Cuba? Their days are numbered."
The president also confirmed that the Cuban government was in talks with the U.S. but did not provide any details of the engagement, first revealed last week.
Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday said they were seeking “negotiated solutions” to the US energy blockade of the island.
Cuban authorities have blamed the crisis on a U.S. energy blockade that began after the U.S. removed Venezuela's former leader and took control of that country's oil flows. Venezuela had previously provided a significant portion of Cuba's oil.
President Donald Trump also signed an executive order placing oil sanctions on the Caribbean nation and threatened economic punishments against any other countries, like Mexico, which had previously also provided Cuba with oil.
The New York Times also reported on Monday that the Trump administration was seeking the removal of Cuba's leader Díaz-Canel. Newsweek could not independently verify the report.
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Cuba Electrical Power Grid Collapse: What We Know
The blackout is affecting the entire island, officials say, and leaves 11 million people living in Cuba without power.
The Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed the blackout in a post to X.
“A total disconnection of the SEN has occurred; the causes are being investigated and protocols for restoration are beginning to be activated,” the ministry wrote.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday said the island had not received oil shipments in more than three months.
The country had been operating on solar power, natural gas and thermoelectric plants. The government also had to postpone surgeries for thousands, the AP reported.
The island has also faced protests over blackouts and other economic pain amid the blockade.
There was a large outage earlier in March that left millions of people without power, the AP reported.
Cuba produced about 40 percent of its own petroleum, but that has not been enough to prevent shortages in recent months. Shipments from Venezuela ended after the U.S. struck the South American country and arrested its President Nicolas Maduro in January.
Díaz-Canel said on Friday that Cuba has held talks with U.S. officials. He said those talks "were aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors facilitated these exchanges," the AP reported.
Trump had referenced conversations between Washington and Havana but provided few details.
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What Is Happening in Cuba? U.S. Blockade Explained
Trump on January 29 signed an executive order against Cuba, accusing its government of “extraordinary actions that harm and threaten the United States,” including supporting “numerous hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors adverse to the United States.”
“The United States has zero tolerance for the depredations of the communist Cuban regime. The United States will act to protect the foreign policy, national security, and national interests of the United States, including by holding the Cuban regime accountable for its malign actions and relationships, while also remaining committed to supporting the Cuban people’s aspirations for a free and democratic society,” the order reads.
The executive order also launched new tariffs on goods “imported into the United States that are products of any other country that directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba.”
That has left Cuba with fuel shortages and economic pain over recent weeks, drawing some domestic criticism toward the Trump administration’s policy.
The energy crisis stems from a combination of aging infrastructure, fuel shortages, and economic strain exacerbated by U.S. sanctions and the collapse of tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The island’s power grid relies heavily on outdated aging thermoelectric plants, which have suffered breakdowns. A blackout earlier this month was blamed on one of those plants east of Havana and the fuel scarcity.
Trump told CNN earlier this month Cuba is “is going to fall pretty soon.”
“They want to make a deal, and so I’m going to put Marco [Rubio] over there and we’ll see how that works out. We’re really focused on this one right now. We’ve got plenty of time, but Cuba’s ready—after 50 years,” Trump told the outlet.
The relationship between the U.S. and Cuba has been strained for decades. Trump has suggested he could turn his attention to Cuba once U.S. military strikes in the Middle East wrap up, floating a "friendly takeover" of the island.
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Is Cuba Communist?
Cuba is a communist country. It is led by Díaz-Canel, who is a member of the Communist Party of Cuba. Under his leadership, the island country adopted a new constitution reaffirming socialism. It said the “socialist system that this Constitution supports is irrevocable.” It also reaffirmed the one‑party system while recognizing some private property rights.
The country has seen some private sector expansion. On Monday, NBC News reported Cuban nationals living abroad will be able to invest in businesses on the island, citing Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga.
“Cuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship with U.S. companies” as well as “also with Cubans residing in the United States and their descendants,” he told NBC News.
Updates: 3/17/26, 4 a.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
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