Cuba's national electricity grid failed late Sunday, August 3, triggering the country's sixth nationwide blackout of 2026; the state energy utility blamed ageing infrastructure and US$-sanction-driven fuel shortages; thunderstorms disrupted restoration the following day

Cuban artist and San Isidro Movement co-founder Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara arrived at Miami International Airport on July 18 after being released from a five-year prison sentence on condition that he leave Cuba; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the release and called on Cuba to free more than 700 remaining political prisoners

Cuba's national power grid collapsed on July 14 at 11:05 a.m. local time, cutting electricity to all 10 million residents in the island's fifth complete blackout of 2026 and the third in roughly 10 days; Cuba's Energy Minister denied human error, and Al Jazeera reported the crisis is unfolding amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has progressively drained Cuba's fuel reserves

Cubans in Old Havana and Guanabacoa banged pots and chanted against the government on July 12, five years after the July 11, 2021 protests swept dozens of Cuban cities; Cuban security forces deployed in Havana; residents in Guanabacoa staged demonstrations after more than 33 consecutive hours without electricity; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and UN Ambassador Mike Waltz each issued statements calling for the release of more than 800 political prisoners held since 2021; Cuban Americans held a Liberation Day rally in Miami

The Supreme Court's Helms-Burton ruling waives sovereign immunity for Cuban state companies; Exxon's claim exceeds $1 billion, opening the door to a wave of expropriation suits