On October 2, the Cuban electrical crisis worsened. “Unit 5 of the Renté Thermoelectric Plant , in Santiago de Cuba, broke down in the morning. Added to this is that the fuel shortage has prevented the Turkish company Karadeniz Holding’s generation plants from starting up.” This will cause “a blackout of 890MW, equivalent to around 30% of national consumption. Matanzas will make cuts of between three and six hours, but in Holguín they will be six hours in all circuits.”[1]
“The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Carlos Fernández de Cossío , dismissed the importance of reports that the US Government was about to authorize non-state businessmen on the Island to open U.S. bank accounts. He said, ‘Cuba is not waiting for the United States to act in any way. The growth of the private sector in Cuba is a national decision of Cuba. We are taking it on ourselves, regardless of what the United States does’”[2]\
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[1] Turkish businesses paralyzed, break in Rente: 30% of Cuba remains in the dark, Diario de Cuba (Oct. 2, 2023).
[2] Cuba does not need a bilateral banking relationship with the US for the private sector to prosper,’ Diario de Cuba (Oct. 2, 2023).
