Cuban electrical collapse causes island-wide blackout, paralyzes economy

After one of the country’s main power plants failed at 11am local time yesterday, its entire electrical grid went down. The island has few generators, and public life suffered: Classes were canceled, a handful of police officers directed traffic in Havana, and only “indispensable workers” were supposed to venture outside the home. “We have had to paralyze the economy to guarantee a minimum of electrical service,” Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said in a televised address. Government officials blamed US sanctions, recent hurricane damage, and aging infrastructure for the blackout.