Cubans in several parts of the island banged pots and, in some places, set rubbish on fire on Tuesday evening to protest against the country's third nationwide power cut this year. The unrest is notable because open dissent in the Communist-run country is often met with lengthy prison sentences, yet spontaneous protests broke out in the worst-affected areas. The outages have deepened public discontent amid wider shortages of fuel, food, transport and medicine.

Fuel shortages have been worsened by tight US sanctions and an effective US oil blockade, leaving even those with generators unable to run them. By Tuesday evening officials said most of the country had power restored, though Santiago de Cuba, the second-largest city, remained in the dark and residents shouted "turn on the lights!". Some rural areas face blackouts of up to 70 hours at a time and urban areas planned cuts of up to 30 hours. President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged the discontent but urged Cubans to blame Washington, while US ambassador Michael Waltz blamed the Cuban government; relations have sharply deteriorated since President Trump accused Cuba of threatening US national security, and private talks between the two nations reportedly show no progress.