A massive blackout hit the entire eastern region of Cuba between 2:16 AM and 3:15 AM UTC on February 5, 2026, leaving provinces of Holguín, Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, and Granma without electricity, according to posts by Cuban journalist MagJorgeCastro on X. The collapse occurred due to the Felton and Renté thermoelectric plants going offline. MagJorgeCastro reported the electrical system collapse in eastern Cuba during the 59-minute reporting window, first noting the blackout across the specified provinces in a post at approximately 2:45 AM UTC, followed by details on the thermoelectric plants. Comments linked to the second post provided further reports confirming the outage. This blackout follows Russian Telegram channels' acknowledgment on February 4-5 of losing Cuba as a sphere of influence, as reported in prior coverage citing Jay Kyiv on X, though no direct connection or official Russian response to the blackout has been stated.
