MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Trump is suggesting he will take Cuba and, quote, "do anything I want with it," just as the island plunged into a total blackout.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Cuba's electricity grid suffered another catastrophic collapse on Monday, leaving the nearly 11 million people that live there without power. Now, the blackout is happening as the U.S. blockade of oil to Cuba is now in its third month.
MARTIN: NPR's Eyder Peralta is with us now with more details. Good morning, Eyder.
EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE: Hey. Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So you were reminding us that this isn't the first all-island power outage.
PERALTA: Yeah.
MARTIN: But it is the largest since the U.S. oil blockade. Now, what brought this one about?
PERALTA: I mean, we don't know. The Cuban electricity company hasn't given an explanation for the blackout. But they say some power is starting to come back online. Total blackouts have happened six times in the past year and a half. It's a long-term problem. The power grid has been falling apart for decades and the Cuban government has simply not been able to keep up with maintenance.
But this also comes amid an oil blockade by the United States. President Díaz-Canel blamed the U.S. for, quote, "cruelly" squeezing energy resources. And that has made the situation in Cuba worse because the country depends on imported oil to run its thermal power plants. And for three months now, Cuba hasn't received any oil.
MARTIN: And President Trump talked about Cuba just yesterday. Is he turning his attention to the island?
PERALTA: It seems that way. President Trump has the war in Iran to deal with. But yesterday in the Oval Office, he had this to say about Cuba.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I do believe I'll be the honor of - having the honor of taking Cuba. That'd be a good honor. That's a big honor
UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST: Taking Cuba?
TRUMP: Taking Cuba in some form, yeah. Taking Cuba, I mean, whether I free it, take it. I think I could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth.
PERALTA: And, you know, after the U.S. seized President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, that's a very clear threat. And I think what we're seeing from the Cuban side is attempts to appease the United States. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed last week that negotiations between Washington and Havana are taking place. And Cuba has now announced two big concessions.
Over the weekend, they said they would release 51 prisoners who were arrested during the 2021 protests. And they have also announced that Cubans not living in Cuba will be able to invest and own businesses in Cuba. Cuban officials I've spoken to say that if the U.S. wants an economic opening, they are willing to negotiate. The big question is whether economic changes alone will actually satisfy Washington.
MARTIN: And, you know, Eyder, there were actually some protests, some rare protests that broke out in Cuba over these blackouts. What do we know about the public mood?
PERALTA: We've seen small demonstrations over the weekend in the town of Moron in central Cuba. Residents there took to the streets after a 26-hour blackout. And they set fire to local Communist Party headquarters.
UNIDENTIFIED DEMONSTRATOR: (Speaking Spanish).
PERALTA: And I think what's clear is that the anger reflects how severe the crisis has become. I was there a few months ago and things were already dire. Hospitals don't have medicine. Food rations have been disrupted. International airlines have canceled flights. The government is trying to ease pressure by opening up parts of the economy. And they're also betting on solar energy. But it's unclear how quickly or even if that can ease the pain.
MARTIN: That is Eyder Peralta. We reached him in Mexico City. Eyder, thank you.
PERALTA: Thank you, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
