Description: Cuba’s energy grid collapsed once again, marking the 12th such nationwide blackout since Jan. The country’s population has been functioning on limited power sources for more than 8 months with the blackouts stretching from 12 to sometimes 30 hours. Cuba has come under intense pressure from Trump’s administration to change its economic and political model as the US imposed additional sanctions earlier this month targeting Cuba’s government and various state – owned companies in the energy and mining sectors. Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez stated that Cuba and the US are not engaged in negotiations and that Cuba would outline their issues at the upcoming UN General Assembly.
Impact: Continued US sanctions on Cuban officials and companies are highly likely pushing the country to the brink of collapse which could potentially reflect into a prolonged humanitarian, economic and energy crisis. With the diplomatic track effectively stalled, Cuba’s pursuit to seek solutions on the international stage is unlikely to deter further sanctions and economic pressure from the US. Outside of economic strangulation, the US strategy remains unclear, since Cuba’s population is unlikely to mobilize a civil uprising against its government, considering the continued dire living conditions in the country and the population’s general exhaustion from those conditions. Military intervention at this point is unlikely, considering the US’ entanglement in the war with Iran and the ineffectiveness in terms of achieving the strategic objectives of changing the economic and political system in the country.