Cuba fights to come back from a nationwide blackout, then a storm that killed six

HAVANA (AP) — A small town in far eastern Cuba was recovering Tuesday from flooding that killed at least six people after Hurricane Oscar crossed the island’s eastern coast as a tropical storm with winds and heavy rain.

Cuba's capital was partially illuminated Monday night after a large-scale blackout generated a handful of protests and a stern government warning that any unrest would be punished.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on state television that rescue and recovery work continued in the town of San Antonio del Sur and officials had yet to enter some flooded areas.

“The country has completely halted,” said homemaker Mayde Quiñones, 55, who cares for her mother-in-law, who is in her 80s. “This hurts everyone, but the elderly most of all."

The Cuban government has a low tolerance for civil disobedience and Díaz-Canel warned on national television Sunday that “we're not going to allow any vandalism, or let anyone disturb people's tranquility."

The prolonged nationwide blackout that followed a massive outage Thursday night was part of countrywide energy problems that led to the largest protests in Cuba in almost 30 years, in July 2021. Those were followed by smaller local protests in October 2022 and March 2024.

All are part of a deep economic crisis that has prompted the exodus of more than half a million Cubans to the U.S., with thousands more heading to Europe.

The Cuban government and its allies blame the United States' 62-year-old trade embargo on the island for its economic problems but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that the Cuban government’s “long-term mismanagement of its economic policy and resources has certainly increased the hardship of people in Cuba.”

Power remains relatively cheap but increasingly unavailable. The Cuban government on state television Monday night said that it’s producing 1300 megawatts when peak demand can hit 3 gigawatts. Authorities said by Monday afternoon that about 80 percent of Havana had intermittent power but people remained fearful.

“We have the fridge full of food and we're scared,” said small-business owner Juan Estrada, 53, whose central Havana business hasn't had consistent power since Friday morning.

Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said in a news conference he hoped that more reliable electricity would be restored by Tuesday morning but classes remained closed through at least Thursday.

He said that Oscar would bring “an additional inconvenience” to Cuba's recovery since it would affect key Cuban power plants, such as Felton in the city of Holguín, and Renté in Santiago de Cuba.

Many of Havana's 2 million people resorted to cooking with improvised wood stoves on the streets before their food went bad in refrigerators. People lined up to buy subsidized food and few gas stations were open.

The failure of the Antonio Guiteras plant on Friday was the latest problem with energy distribution in a country where electricity has been restricted and rotated among different regions at different times.

The blackout was considered to be Cuba’s worst since Hurricane Ian hit the island as a Category 3 storm in 2022 and damaged power installations. It took days for the government to fix them.

Local authorities initially said the outage stemmed from increased demand from small- and medium-sized companies and residential air conditioners. Later, the blackout got worse because of breakdowns in old thermoelectric plants that haven’t been properly maintained, and the lack of fuel to operate some facilities.

Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A cook looks in on a resident during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man walks down the street holding slices of pizza during a massive blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents stand outside their homes to avoid the heat indoors during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People play dominoes on the street during a power outage in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People walk along the boardwalk as waves crash during a power outage in Havana, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents prepare a soup over an open fire during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A woman buys soup from a street vendor during a power outage in Havana, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A person fishes along the boardwalk as waves crash during a power outage in Havana, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents play dominoes during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents endure the heat during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents pass the time during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents line up to buy bread during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A resident walks his bicycle during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents pass the time at the malecon during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents pass the time during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk on a street during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk on a street during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk on a street during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A resident walks his bicycle during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A resident looks at his cell phone on the street during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents walk on a street during a blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents protest by banging pots and pans in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said Friday he's remaining with the Wildcats after being mentioned as a potential candidate to fill the coaching vacancy at blueblood program North Carolina.

“I'm happy to announce I'm staying at Arizona,” Lloyd said during his pre-practice news conference at the Final Four. “We've been able to get some things done the past couple days.”

The school also announced it had reached an extension with Lloyd through the 2030-31 season, though it didn't release financial terms. Lloyd had previously been under contract through the 2029-30 season worth an average of nearly $5.5 million in base and supplemental pay for the coming seasons, along with a buyout that dropped from $11 million to $9 million on Wednesday.

Lloyd, 51, had been considered a top potential target for the Tar Heels, who fired Hubert Davis on March 24 after five seasons. He had deflected questions about the UNC opening as the Wildcats (36-2) kept advancing in the NCAA Tournament to their first Final Four since 2001, including as recently as Thursday in Indianapolis.

Lloyd praised UNC as “a first-class organization” and said he appreciated “the way they've handled this.”

“Arizona basketball, you guys know what it means to me, and when I say it’s a special place, that always comes from the bottom of my heart,” Lloyd said.

“I didn’t want to make this entire Final Four about that because I’m just a small part of something much bigger. But on that same note, I’d also like to let you know that North Carolina is an amazing place. I mean, it’s a 1 of 1. It’s an honor to even be considered for that job.”

Lloyd's comments came a day before the Wildcats (36-2) were set to face Michigan in Saturday night's national semifinals in a matchup of the two 1-seeds in Indianapolis.

Wolverines coach Dusty May has also been mentioned as a possible UNC candidate, but said Friday he'll “never respond to any job speculation.”

“I think it’s well documented how happy I am at Michigan,” May said. “Obviously my private life, my personal life, my family, their happiness is very important. Yeah, I love it at Michigan, but you’ll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go and then I’ll comment on every job.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd waves as he cuts down the net after a win over Purdue in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks during a news conference ahead of a national semifinal NCAA college basketball tournament game against Michigan at the Final Four, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)