The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant in the western province of Matanzas, synchronized with the National Electric Power System, according to the Cuban Electric Union. Photo: Prensa Latina.
The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, stated that the government of the United States intends to take control of Cuba by further pressuring its economy with the aim of forcing the island to surrender. “Only in this way can the fierce economic war that is applied as collective punishment against the entire people be explained,” stated President Díaz-Canel. However, he added, “any external aggressor will collide with an impregnable resistance.”
In a public statement, the Cuban president recalled that the US publicly threatens, almost daily, to overthrow the Constitutional government of Cuba by force under the outrageous pretext of rescuing Cuba from the economic hardship that the United States itself has caused through more than six decades of illegal economic blockade and, since late 2025, through a complete naval blockade of the island.
Donald Trump recently confirmed that the White House is maintaining talks with Havana, as Miguel Díaz-Canel announced last week. The US ruler said that for him “it will be an honor to take the island” and that he “can do whatever he wants with it.”
President Díaz-Canel specified that contact is discreet and preliminaryand seeks to explore channels of dialogue to resolve bilateral differences. Cuban authorities have assured that in those conversations, no issue of domestic policy is on the table.
Cuba reconnects 45% of its thermoelectric plants after 24 hours without power in the country
At 12:14 p.m. this Tuesday, March 17, the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant synchronized with the National Electric Power System, which is now interconnected from Pinar del Río to Holguín, Cuba, as part of the restoration of the system in the country, confirmed Rubén Campos Olmo, general director of the plant, to the Cuban News Agency.
On his Facebook profile, Mario Sabines Lorenzo, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in the province of Matanzas, stated that the synchronization of the Guiteras plant will help supply some circuits in the territory according to the priorities set, such as hospitals and water pumping systems.
Founded in 1988 under the presidency of Fidel Castro, the Antonio Guiteras plant constitutes a strategic industry for Cuba due to its generation capacity and its location in the western part of the country, where the largest loads are concentrated.
The director of the Provincial Load Dispatch Office of the Holguín Electric Company, Davielquis Cortina Coba, explained that the connection of the eastern region was achieved around 6 a.m. local time.
By midday this Tuesday, seven of the island’s 16 thermal generation units were already operating. In Havana, where the most progress had been made, electricity service had been restored to 44.5% of the capital according to data from the publicly owned Cuban Electric Union.
The Matanzas Electric Company stated on its Telegram channel that circuits for the Faustino Pérez Hospital had been connected, as well as circuits 1410 and 1406 in the Historic Center of Matanzas. The circuits serving the Matanzas Maternity Hospital; the Mario Muñoz Military Hospital; the Cárdenas Hospital; circuit 4220 covering Fines, Coliseo, Lagunilla, Ponce, Picadora A Maceo, San Miguel; circuit 4995 covering Guásimas and oil offices; circuit 399 at Planta Martí, which serves communication repeaters at La Cumbre; and circuit 396 covering Campestre, Rincón Moderno, Finca El Inglés, and Campismo Bacunayagua also already have electricity.
In the afternoon, the Cuban News Agency also reported that workers and management at the Lidio Ramón Pérez Thermoelectric Plant in Felton were carrying out an intensive preparation process to resume power generation. Víctor Hugo González Quiala, acting director of the plant, told Radio Mayarí that the technical team was maintaining an uninterrupted work schedule with the aim of starting up the unit during the night of this Tuesday.
Reported with information from RT, Cuban News Agency, and Prensa Latina.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/CB/SL
Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
