Rubio calls for new Cuban leaders as latest blackout underscores deepening economic crisis

A man charges his phone and his fan with a solar panel during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

HAVANA — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday pledged imminent action against Cuba’s socialist government as his moves against the island bring the U.S.’ longtime opponent deeper into crisis.

A day after Trump’s sanctions on Venezuela, including a stop to vital oil exports to Cuba, contributed to Cuba’s latest nationwide blackout, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both said that the administration sees the island nation as the next country where the U.S. can expand its influence.

“Cuba right now is in very bad shape,” Trump said.

“And we’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon,” he added.

Until recently, Trump’s comments on change in Cuba might have been considered remarkable. But they come after his administration’s military raid that captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela and the launch of U.S. military strikes against Iran.

U.S. sanctions and economic pressure have exasperated the misery many Cubans are experiencing.

Pedro Ramos, a 75-year-old retired mechanic who shares a modest apartment in Old Havana with his wife, was boiling three pieces of chicken in an attempt to save them from spoiling with the power out.

“I want to see if we can rescue some food,” he said. “Two people older than 70 live here. ... This is terrible.”

The Trump administration is looking for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to leave as the U.S. continues negotiating with the Cuban government, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge of talks between Washington and Havana. No detail has been offered about who the administration might like to see come to power.

Many Cubans do not believe that Diaz-Canel holds much power in Cuba, anyway, as opposed to revolutionary founding father Raul Castro and his family.

With little reliable information trickling out of Havana or Washington, experts are watching closely for clues about what’s in the works.

“Some pieces of this story as they’re trickling out, don’t add up to me,” said Michael Bustamante, a Cuba expert and associate professor of history at the University of Miami. “I can’t quite figure out what the end game is here for either side.”

Power coming back

Electricity was slowly being restored to hospitals and some homes Tuesday afternoon, but officials warned that the crumbling power network could fail again.

The government blames its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.

Rubio, who 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.”

A Cuban official said Monday that Cuba is open to trading with U.S. companies, but such promises have been made before.

“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 also 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.”

While Cuba produces 40 per cent of its petroleum and has been generating its own power, it hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand as its aging 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 per cent of residents in the capital, Havana, representing some 42,000 customers.

Suffering people

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.”

Havana resident Tomas David Velazquez 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.”

By Milexsy Duran.

Seung Min Kim, Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert contributed from Washington.