What is happening in Cuba? Economic struggles, US tensions explained Kate Perez, USA TODAYTue, March 17, 2026 at 9:28 PM UTC 0 President Donald Trump ramped up comments toward Cuba on March 17, saying that the country is in talks with United States leadership and is "in a bad shape" following an oil blockade and a nowresolved power outage that left 10 million people without electricity. Speaking to reporters, Trump said Cuba has been communicating with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and suggested that Washington would be doing "something with Cuba" very soon, Reuters reported.
What is happening in Cuba? Economic struggles, US tensions explained
Kate Perez, USA TODAYTue, March 17, 2026 at 9:28 PM UTC
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President Donald Trump ramped up comments toward Cuba on March 17, saying that the country is in talks with United States leadership and is "in a bad shape" following an oil blockade and a now-resolved power outage that left 10 million people without electricity.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said Cuba has been communicating with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and suggested that Washington would be doing "something with Cuba" very soon, Reuters reported.
The comments come a day after Trump said he believes he'll have "the honor of taking Cuba" and claimed he could "do anything [he wants]" with the country. Both the U.S. and Cuba have confirmed to be in talks, with Cuba's top diplomat in Washington telling USA TODAY in an exclusive interview on March 13 that Havana was engaged in "serious" and "sensitive" negotiations with the U.S. government.
Cuba and the U.S. have opened talks aimed at defusing the crisis, among the most urgent since 1959, when Fidel Castro forced a U.S. ally from power on the island.
Neither side has provided details of the ongoing negotiations, though Trump has portrayed Cuba as desperate to make a deal.
1 / 0Millions without power after Cuba's electric grid fails
A hotel remains lit by its own system during a blackout in Havana on March 16, 2026, after Cuba suffered a widespread power cut according to the national electricity company, against the backdrop of a severe crisis on the island caused by the US energy blockade.
Cuba news: Trump says he thinks he'll have the 'honor' of 'taking Cuba''
Why does Trump want Cuba?
Located approximately 90 miles south of Florida, Cuba has long been a point of contention for Trump and the U.S. The Cuba and the U.S. have had a strained relationship for nearly seven decades, dating back to Cuban leader Fidel Castro's overthrow of a U.S.-backed government in 1959.
The Obama administration took steps to normalize bilateral relations, including restoring diplomatic ties and expanding travel and trade between the countries. Trump rolled back many of those normalization steps during his first term.
Cuban history: US and Cuba have had a contentious relationship through the years
Cuba was a close ally of Russia for decades following the 1959 Communist revolution that brought Castro to power. More recently, Russia has supported the island with both financing and material goods, Reuters reported.
Trump has set his sights on the island nation in recent months and weeks, saying it was "ready to fall" and calling it a "weakened nation" in the wake of U.S. sanctions and tariffs on Cuba after the U.S. military operation in January that captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a Cuban ally.
Furthermore, the Trump administration in January declared a national emergency over Cuba, calling the country "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security.
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Cuba oil blockade, power outage explained
The U.S. cut off the flow of Venezuelan oil supply to Cuba following the capture of Maduro on Jan. 3 and threatened to impose tariffs on any country supplying it with fuel, rendering planes, cars and people on the island without oil in many cases.
The lack of oil has put pressure on the island, which has seen increased economic struggle in recent months. Cuba's national electric grid collapsed on March 16, plunging 10 million people into darkness amid the blockade that has worsened the island's already outdated generation system. It is the latest blackout in a series of outages, including one sparking a rare violent protest in the communist-run country over the weekend.
Cuba restored power to much of its electrical grid on March 17, including its largest oil-fired power plant, though parts of the country remain in a blackout, Reuters reported. Santiago de Cuba, the country's second-largest city, remained offline, the reports said, but expected to be reconnected to the grid by day's end.
Nearly half of Havana, the country's capital, also had power restored, according to Cuba's mid-day state newscast. However, most Cubans are still experiencing a lack of power, with Reuters reporting that many were seeing 16 or more hours of blackout daily even before the latest grid collapse.
Why did Cuba's power grid fail? Lack of oil is the main problem.
The cause of the failure is still being investigated, and Cuban officials said they were looking at electrical transmission problems and not a major power plant breakdown. But Cuba has seen mass blackouts before, including in 2024, often attributed to the country's outdated generation system, which depends on aging thermal power plants from the former Soviet Union. The system uses about 100,000 barrels of oil a day for essential services.
Reductions in oil imports to Cuba in 2025 from Mexico and Venezuela and issues paying for oil on the spot market already put pressure on system. Trump's oil blockade has reduced imports to near zero as of mid-March.
A U.S. State Department official described the widespread blackouts as common and a "symptom of the failing regime's incompetence inability to provide even the most basic goods and service for its people" in a statement shared with USA TODAY on March 17.
"This is the tragic result of over sixty years of Communist rule. An island that was once the crown jewel of the Caribbean has plunged into extreme poverty and darkness," the official said. "As President Trump has said, what is left of the regime should make a deal and finally let the Cuban people be free and prosperous, with the help of the United States."
Contributing: USA TODAY's Kim Hjelmgaard, Janet Loehrke, George Petras, and Francesca Chambers; Reuters
Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or on X @katecperez_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why does Trump want Cuba? What to know about power outages, US tension
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Published: March 17, 2026 at 05:55PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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