6.0-magnitude earthquake hits Cuba amid nationwide blackout

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Cuba early Tuesday, unsettling residents and adding to the island’s ongoing energy and economic challenges, according to the National Seismological Service and official media.

The tremor occurred at 12:28 a.m. local time, with its epicenter approximately 37 kilometers southeast of Imías in Guantánamo province, at a depth of roughly 20 kilometers. Seismologist Enrique Diego Arango Arias reported that the quake was felt across several eastern provinces, including Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Granma. It is the fourth noticeable earthquake recorded in Cuba this year.

According to the Cuban News Agency, the tremor caused widespread alarm, with residents in Guantánamo leaving their homes and seeking refuge on lower floors or outdoors amid fears of aftershocks. Many described the shaking as “long and very strong,” with neighbors alerting one another to move to safer areas.

The earthquake comes amid mounting stress on Cuba’s energy infrastructure. Officials reported a nationwide blackout on Monday affecting the country’s 11 million residents. The Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed a “complete disconnection” of the electrical system, noting that investigations are underway and no operational units were found to have failed at the time of the collapse.

Lázaro Guerra, director of electricity at the ministry, told state media that efforts were underway to gradually restart thermoelectric plants to restore power, emphasizing caution to prevent additional failures. “It must be done gradually to avoid setbacks,” he said, noting that weakened systems are particularly vulnerable.

This marks the third major blackout in Cuba in the past four months, a consequence of the island’s aging electrical grid. Authorities have also pointed to U.S. sanctions on oil sales to Cuba as a contributing factor to the country’s worsening energy crisis.

The tremor, combined with the energy outages, has intensified concerns among Cubans already coping with economic hardships, daily power outages, and an increasingly fragile infrastructure.