U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is calling for 'new people in charge' of Cuba as the Caribbean nation experienced its third islandwide blackout in four months.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett confirms security team member killed by Dallas police in standoffAfter KSAT covered six shootings in 48 hours, San Antonio nonprofit calls for preventionBig Bend National Park closing Chisos Basin for 2 yearsLATEST NEWS FILE - In this Saturday, June 16, 2018 file photo, Lil Wayne performs on Day 3 of the 2018 Firefly Music Festival at The Woodlands in Dover, Del.
Rapper Lil Wayne has pleaded guilty, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020 to a federal charge that he possessed a weapon despite being a convicted felon following a 2019 search of a private plane in the Miami area. Lil Wayne adds San Antonio performance with expansion of ‘Tha Carter’ anniversary tour Read full article: Lil Wayne adds San Antonio performance with expansion of ‘Tha Carter’ anniversary tour San Antonio police said it is looking for a man officers believe robbed a North Side business at gunpoint on Monday, March 16, 2026.Opening arguments begin in trial of man charged with 2023 murders of couple, their unborn childA man charges his phone and his fan with a solar panel during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. A street vendor waits for customers on the Malecn during a blackout in Havana, Monday, March 16, 2026. A girl plays in the doorway of the building where there is an art installation related to the Cuban Revolution, during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. A picture of Cuba's late Fidel Castro and Venezuela's late Hugo Chavez hang outside a building next to electric wires during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. A man charges his phone and his fan with a solar panel during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Electricity was slowly being restored to hospitals and some of the island's 11 million residents, but officials warned that its crumbling power network could fail again.Cuba's aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, leading to daily outages and an increase in significant blackouts.Trump was asked during a meeting Tuesday in the Oval Office with the prime minister of Ireland about the U.S. seeking regime change in Cuba but deferred to his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Rubio, who himself is of Cuban heritage, said the island “has an economy that doesn’t work in a political and governmental system. They can’t fix it.” “So they have to change dramatically,” Rubio said. “What they announced yesterday is not dramatic enough. It’s not going to fix it.” The Trump administration is demanding that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions. Trump has also raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.” Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country in early January and arrested its then-president, Nicolás Maduro. While Cuba produces 40% of its petroleum and has been generating its own power, it hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand as its electric grid continues to crumble. Cuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines said on X that the island had restored the electrical system in the western town of Pinar del Rio and the southeastern province of Holguin and that some “microsystems” were beginning to operate in various territories. State-owned media reported that by late Monday power had been restored to 5% of residents in the capital, Havana, representing some 42,000 customers. The city's residents are concerned about food spoiling and simply trying to maneuver in homes with no lighting. “The power outages are driving me crazy,” said 48-year-old Dalba Obiedo. “Last night I fell down a 27-step staircase. Now I have to have surgery on my jaw. I fell because the lights went out.” The Ministry of Energy and Mines said earlier that there had been a “complete disconnection” of the country’s electrical system, noting there were no failures in the units that were operating when the grid collapsed. Lázaro Guerra, the ministry’s electricity director, told state media on Monday that crews were trying to restart several thermoelectric plants, which are key to restoring power. Havana resident Tomás David Velázquez Felipe, 61, said the relentless outages make him think that Cubans who can should just pack up and leave the island. “What little we have to eat spoils,” he said. “Our people are too old to keep suffering.”Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Jury selection began on Monday in the case of Christopher PreciadoSchertz searches for answers to frequent railroad crossing crashesSarah Spivey has your weather Authority ForecastCar crosses low water road live on TVSend us your questions about danger in the classroomQuestions about self-driving cars rise after one blocked an ambulance responding to Austin shooting
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Cuba's latest blackout underscores its deepening economic crisis as Rubio calls for new leadershipU.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is calling for 'new people in charge' of Cuba as the Caribbean nation experienced its third islandwide blackout in four months.
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