US President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing the Department of Energy to use the Defense Production Act to restart the Sable pipeline in California. This move aims to boost US oil production and meet the urgent needs of military installations, as Cuba announced a nationwide power outage due to worsening energy crisis.

The White House explained that the Secretary of Energy will issue an order authorizing the immediate production of approximately 50,000 barrels of oil per day, increasing California’s offshore oil production by 550%. It added that the Sable pipeline will provide the equivalent of 20 million barrels of oil annually to meet the urgent needs of the Department of Defense and secure energy supplies for approximately 50 military installations on the West Coast.

The White House asserted that the executive order overrides existing California climate laws and puts an end to what it described as “coordinated regulatory attacks” on US energy dominance.

In Cuba, the national utility company announced a complete blackout of the national power grid overnight Sunday-Monday, plunging the country, including the capital Havana, into darkness.

The company explained via social media that the grid had experienced a “total blackout,” as the island grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades, exacerbated by the US oil embargo tightened by President Trump in January.

Cubans have suffered from frequent power outages for years due to the aging power plants, most of which date back to the Soviet era. However, the crisis has worsened since the US oil embargo, which has made it difficult to supply power plants and backup generators with the necessary fuel, as they rely primarily on imported diesel.

Western Cuba had already experienced a widespread blackout on Saturday evening, before power was restored Sunday morning following repairs to a series of faults in the electrical grid. (EIR/AFP)