Cubans rendered powerless as outages persist and tensions with US escalate

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.

People in this town east of Havana are plunged into darkness daily and forced to cook with coal and firewood, but not everyone can afford this new reality.

Kenia Montoya said she recently ripped the wooden door off her bathroom in the crumbling cinderblock home that she shares with her children because she needed firewood, and they needed to eat.

“Things are getting worse for us now,” she said. “They don’t supply us with petroleum. They don’t supply us with food. Where does that leave us, then?”

A faded purple sheet now hangs over their bathroom. Nearby, only a handful of coal remains in a small bag.

The 50-year-old mother doesn’t know how she'll cook once the coal runs out because supplies in the region have dwindled.

It’s one of many uncertainties gripping towns like this one across Cuba after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.

“Well, it’s a failed nation now,” Trump said this week. “And they’re not getting any money from Venezuela, and they’re not getting any money from anywhere.”

Near the main entrance to Santa Cruz del Norte, a sprawling mural is emblazoned with the following message in all caps: “NO ONE GIVES UP HERE. LONG LIVE A FREE CUBA.”

But people wonder how long they can hold out.

The island’s crisis is deepening: severe blackouts, soaring prices and a shortage of basic goods.

Meanwhile, the Cuban government remains mum over its oil reserves, offering no word on whether Russia or anyone else would increase their shipments after oil supplies from Venezuela were disrupted when the U.S. attacked and arrested its president.

On Thursday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel described the situation as “complex” as he called the U.S. stance “aggressive and criminal,” saying it's affecting things like transportation, hospitals, schools, tourism and the production of food.

He said that in a week, he would provide details about how Cuba will deal with the crisis.

Cuban officials recently lauded a phone call they had with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, although they did not share details. Meanwhile, Mexico has pledged to send humanitarian aid, including food, after Trump said he asked that it suspend oil shipments to the island.

Many in Santa Cruz del Norte feel the worst is yet to come.

“With all those tariffs they’re going to impose on countries, no oil will come in, and how are we going to live?” said Gladys Delgado.

The 67-year-old had cracked open her front door on a recent chilly afternoon to get some fresh air as she sewed small, colorful rugs made of clothing scraps to make extra cash because her pension is only $6 a month.

A couple of houses down, Minorkys Hoyos dropped a handful of cassava cubes into an old pot she filled with water from a barrel and placed it over a tiny, makeshift grill inside her home.

“You live with what you have,” she said, noting she had no other food available at that moment.

The few rechargeable items that used to light her small, disheveled home have broken down, and she began to bump into things until a neighbor gifted her an improvised lantern made with fuel and a reused baby food jar.

“When it’s dark, I don’t see,” said the 53-year-old diabetic.

It was late afternoon as she cooked, but her home was already dark.

Outside, two children sat on a dusty sidewalk. They stacked dominoes one atop the other to see how high they could go before the whole thing tumbled down.

For the past three months, Santa Cruz del Norte had electricity while most of Cuba was hit with constant outages stemming from aging infrastructure and fuel shortages at power plants.

People like Iván Amores were wary of rejoicing, fearful they would be plunged into the dark again like most of last year. Their fears materialized a week ago, when the outages hit again.

“This used to be wonderful,” he recalled of his town when it had electricity. “Now, it’s truly torture."

He uses a tiny, makeshift barbecue pit to cook for himself, his daughter and young granddaughter, buying pricier coal at $3 a bag because it generates less smoke inside their tidy home.

Amores also invested in a single tube light that a Cuban man in another town builds and sells; it can be charged and even comes with a USB port.

But even those kind of brilliant inventions Cubans are known for are out of reach for people like 67-year-old Mariela Viel; she and her husband still cannot afford to add a bathroom to their cinderblock home with a dirt floor.

Growing up, Viel said she never knew what a blackout was: “We were living well. We had food, money.”

She worked more than 40 years at the cafeteria of Cuba's power company and now receives $8 a month in pension.

“What can I afford? Nothing. Not even a package of chicken,” she said.

When there's power, she cooks rice and beans and listens to her favorite music: Cuban big bands.

Viel sat outside one recent afternoon, watching a couple neighbors walk briskly with buckets of warmed up water so their families could take showers during a cold snap that began in late January, with a record low of 32 degrees (0 degrees) recorded in a town southeast of Santa Cruz del Norte.

Celebrations also start earlier now, with one family organizing a boy's 15th birthday — a milestone age across Latin America — mid-afternoon before he and his friends opted to finish partying outdoors under a big yellow moon.

It glowed on a group of people nearby who danced and sang outside next to a scooter blasting music from its speakers to celebrate the birthday of Olga Lilia Laurenti, now 61.

“I’m telling you, whatever’s meant to be, let it be, because we can’t stop it,” she said as she paused dancing.

“You’re not going to waste part of your life on something that’s out of your control. If only we could do something, but what are we going to do? We can’t suffer. You need laughter, you need joy.”

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

Youths use their cell phones during a scheduled blackout to ration energy, at their home in Santa Cruz del Norte, home to one of Cuba’s largest thermoelectric plants, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People celebrate a birthday during a scheduled power outage in Santa Cruz del Norte, home to one of Cuba’s largest thermoelectric plants, late Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Minorkys Hoyos Ruiz lights coals to cook dinner during a scheduled blackout to ration energy in Santa Cruz del Norte, home to one of Cuba’s largest thermoelectric plants, late afternoon Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Smoke rises from the chimney of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba, at sunset Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

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. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter crashed in an accident, killing the pilot and a trooper who was on board, after responding to a gun battle between police and a suspect who fired on officers from rooftops, authorities said Thursday.

The confrontation began when law enforcement officers responded to a domestic violence call around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Flagstaff Police Chief Sean Connolly said during a news conference.

A man armed with a “semiautomatic long rifle” opened fire on the officers and victim and an almost two-hour shootout ensued with the unidentified suspect “hopping from roof to roof” in the neighborhood, shooting at officers, Connolly said.

The man was brought into custody around 10:20 p.m., around the time the helicopter accident occurred, Connolly said. He did not provide information on how the helicopter crashed.

The helicopter was helping officers on the ground by providing an aerial view of what was happening, Connolly said.

The suspect suffered nonfatal gunshot wounds and was being treated at Flagstaff Medical Center, officials said.

No one else was injured. The names of the pilot and trooper, who was also a paramedic, were not released.

“Our city and our state have experienced a significant loss. We are part of this community,” Connolly said. “This neighborhood was under siege last night.”

The Bell 407 helicopter that was built in 2004 crashed on Flagstaff's west side, a few miles from Route 66 and in the view of a neighborhood. There was a fire afterward, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and a search of the helicopter's registration.

Earlier in the night, an emergency alert went out to mobile phones warning of an active shooter and urging people to stay clear of the area. Still, people gathered outside of a gas station watching as dozens of police vehicles lined the streets.

The FAA said it would assist the National Transportation Safety Board in the crash investigation. An email seeking information was sent to the NTSB early Thursday.

The state Department of Public Safety's Air Rescue Unit is trained for various high-risk situations, including mountain and water rescues.

Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett and members of Arizona's congressional delegation expressed sympathy for the families of the pilot and trooper.

“Tragic news. Please pray for their families and everyone involved,” said U.S. Rep. Eli Crane, whose district includes Flagstaff.

“Heartbreaking news out of northern Arizona this morning, and a grim reminder of the dangers law enforcement face,” U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton wrote. “Praying for these officers’ loved ones and the entire Arizona Department of Public Safety.”

Law enforcement respond to aneighborhood in Flagstaff, Ariz. ,where police say a man opened fire on officers on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Cheyanne Mumphrey)

In this grab taken from video, emergency cervices work at a scene of Police Helicopter Crash in Flagstaff, Arizona, the night from Feb. 4 to 5, 2026. (ABC15 Arizona via AP)