I begin this report by thanking friend @valued-customer for his good vibes regarding the latest nationwide blackout that is still ongoing for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, which, after 8:15 p.m. local time this Sunday, will cross the 48-hour border. This is the fourth national power outage since October last year, when the sad convergence of the lack of foreign currency to acquire fuel—added to the pressure imposed by the designation of the U.S. Treasury Department weighing on the Cuban importer of this critical commodity—and the decrepit state of the power generation infrastructure caused the system to collapse. The country lives with the stress that the next full blackout could occur at any moment, and indeed, I thought it was that unfortunate dynamic when we suffered a power outage at my university last Friday around noon.
At our institution, fortunately, we are oblivious to the electrical crisis that the country is experiencing, so when the service fails, the first thing that comes to mind is that the entire system has collapsed. However, everything indicates that it was a minor problem that was solved remotely in a few minutes. But hours later the whole system blew up again for real due to a not-well-explained breakdown in a power substation located on the outskirts of the Cuban capital. The first broad outage in October was a novel experience for the engineers and technicians who operate the network. And in any case, restoring it from scratch is an extremely difficult operation due to its fragility.
Yet, after this first shot, it seemed that they had won the pulse of the task in the following two nationwide blackouts. This time, it has been tough again to achieve the gear between the old and poorly maintained generation units. The country aims to add some 1,000 MW of generating capacity this year by appealing to Chinese solar photovoltaic technology. However, if this is accomplished, the blackouts will continue chewing on the Cuban citizen, exposed to a bleak socio-economic panorama built on internal ingredients—i.e., a very objectionable government management—and external ones—fundamentally “imported” from Washington. In the last update provided by the provincial office of the Cuban Electrical Union in the capital, 66% of the customers already had service. Fortunately we are among them, a blessing that has come our way while editing the final version of the post. By the way, although the Cuban case is chronic, in the last few hours, there was also a nationwide power outage in Panama, although service was being restored consistently.
SourceEl Salvador
President Nayib Bukele said that his country would receive a significant fee—for its context—for the controversial decision to host alleged criminal immigrants sent from the United States. I emphasize the fact that the amount to be received, not disclosed, is high for the Salvadoran context because, at the same time, the Central American leader recognizes it as low for the levels of financing that the U.S. Treasury can afford. Nevertheless, Bukele claims that it will be helpful to ensure the sustainability of the disputed Salvadoran penitentiary system, whose operation involves an expenditure of US$200 million per year. The majority of those sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration are 238 Venezuelan individuals alleged to be members of “El Tren de Aragua” (TdA), in addition to a score of Salvadorans suspected to be members of the also transnational gang called MS-13 who were wanted by the local justice system.
Trump appealed to rarely invoked legislation—last time under World War II—to advance his mass deportation plan. A judge ordered a halt to the removal, but two planes—including one bound for Honduras—were allegedly already in the air and had finally landed at their destinations. The White House's debatable narrative is that the TdA is an organization operating under the direction of the government of Nicolás Maduro through the so-called Cártel de los Soles, “the Nicolas Maduro regime-sponsored, narco-terrorism enterprise.” The invoked law states that to be activated, there must be a declared war with a foreign nation or government or an invasion or predatory incursion by a foreign nation or government. I do not know if the logic of the White House can be sustained with forcefulness if convincing evidence of the link between the Palace of Miraflores and the Aragua Train is demanded.
Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).
March 16, 2025— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele)
The United States will pay a very low fee for them,… pic.twitter.com/tfsi8cgpD6
Brazil
Bolsonaro receives less support than expected at rally called to defend his innocence in the face of serious charges and push for amnesty for those convicted in a flagship case that includes him.
Ato do ex-presidente Jair Bolsonaro reuniu 18,3 mil pessoas em Copacabana, menos de 2% do público previsto. de acordo com um levantamento feito pela USP.
March 16, 2025— Política Estadão (@EstadaoPolitica)
Bolsonaro e aliados chegaram a prever a presença de 1 milhão de pessoas na manifestação deste domingo, 16, em prol da anistia… pic.twitter.com/T9P5t9tYmv
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I am happy you have power available, and hope your loved ones and friends do soon, if they don't already.
Thanks!