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Cubans rendered powerless as outages persist and tensions with US escalate
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Women use a cell phone flashlight as they chat through a window during a scheduled power outage as part of energy rationing in Santa Cruz del Norte, home to one of Cuba’s largest thermoelectric plants, late Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. - photo by AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa
SANTA CRUZ DEL NORTE, Cuba (AP) — The smell of sulfur hits hard in this coastal town that produces petroleum and is home to one of Cuba’s largest thermoelectric plants. Yet, even as the plant cranks back to life, residents remain in the dark, surrounded by energy sources they cannot use. As tensions deepen between Cuba and the U.S. after it attacked Venezuela and disrupted oil shipments, so have the woes of Santa Cruz del Norte.