标签： North America

Cuba has successfully restored electricity nationwide following an extensive 29-hour blackout that plunged its entire population of 10 million into darkness, according to energy officials. The grid was fully reconnected by 6:11 pm Tuesday, though authorities cautioned that power shortages may persist due to insufficient generation capacity.

The restoration came after technicians managed to reactivate the Antonio Guiteras power plant, a decades-old facility that serves as the cornerstone of Cuba’s energy infrastructure. This development offers limited relief to citizens already weary from months of intermittent outages caused by severe fuel shortages and aging power generation systems.

The blackout occurred against the backdrop of intensifying US pressure on the Caribbean nation. The Trump administration has implemented measures to restrict Cuba’s access to oil supplies, including cutting off Venezuelan shipments and threatening tariffs on countries that attempt to fill the gap. President Donald Trump explicitly stated on Monday that he could “take” Cuba and would be “doing something with Cuba very soon.”

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel responded defiantly to Washington’s threats, criticizing what he described as “almost daily public threats against Cuba” and asserting that any external aggressor would encounter “unbreakable resistance.” In a social media post following power restoration, he accused the US of attempting to “announce plans to take over the country, its resources, its properties, and even the very economy they seek to suffocate in order to force us to surrender.”

The political confrontation escalated as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed Cuba’s recent decision to allow exiles to invest and own businesses as insufficient for meaningful free-market reforms. Meanwhile, a US State Department official attributed the grid collapse to the Cuban government’s mismanagement.

Diplomatic channels remain open but contentious. Tanieris Dieguez, Cuba’s deputy chief of mission in Washington, told AFP that while Cuba is prepared for broad discussions with the US and welcomes increased investment, the nation’s political system and constitutional model are non-negotiable. “The only thing that Cuba asks for in any conversation is respect to our sovereignty and to our right to self-determination,” she emphasized.

International concern over the situation grew as Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned US actions as “gross interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state” and pledged necessary support for Cuba. The ministry statement accused the US of deliberately ratcheting up “the atmosphere of confrontation.”

In a significant congressional hearing on global threats, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard characterized Iran’s regime as structurally “intact” but operationally “largely degraded” following military strikes targeting its leadership and defense capabilities. The Wednesday testimony before Congress marked the first public intelligence briefing since the outbreak of the 12-Day War in February 2025 and featured unprecedented scrutiny of the administration’s justification for military action.

The hearing gained particular significance following Tuesday’s resignation of National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, who publicly contradicted the administration’s position by stating Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States. This divergence highlighted deepening institutional tensions within the intelligence community regarding the justification for military engagement.

When pressed by Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff regarding whether she personally assessed Iran as an imminent threat, Gabbard deferred executive authority, stating: “The only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president.” This response sparked further questioning about the intelligence community’s role in the decision-making process that led to the June 2025 military campaign jointly conducted with Israel.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe presented a contrasting view to Kent’s assessment, testifying that “Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended period of time, and posed an immediate threat at this time.” The divergence underscored the complex and sometimes contradictory intelligence assessments surrounding Iranian capabilities and intentions.

Gabbard revealed that intelligence agencies had long anticipated potential Iranian aggression in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping channel that Iran has effectively shut down since hostilities began. She noted the Defense Department implemented “pre-emptive planning measures” based on intelligence assessments predicting Iran “would likely hold the Strait of Hormuz” during conflict.

The hearing also uncovered notable omissions in Gabbard’s public testimony compared to her prepared written remarks. While her submitted testimony asserted US-Israeli attacks had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment program with “no efforts” to rebuild, these claims were omitted from her oral presentation. When questioned by Democratic Senator Mark Warner about this discrepancy, Gabbard cited time constraints, prompting Warner to suggest she had selectively omitted information contradicting the president’s narrative.

Lawmakers further probed the intelligence community’s involvement in presidential decision-making, with Senator Angus King questioning whether intelligence officials were present during final deliberations on military action. Ratcliffe acknowledged participating in “dozens and dozens” of meetings with the president but could not identify a specific decision-making moment.

The extensive hearing illuminated ongoing tensions between legislative oversight and executive authority while revealing substantive disagreements within the intelligence establishment regarding the characterization of threats posed by Iran.

In a politically charged confirmation hearing, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin faced rigorous questioning from Senate colleagues regarding his nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security. The hearing occurred amid a partial government shutdown that has left DHS without funding for five weeks, affecting approximately 280,000 employees who continue working without pay.

Mullin, known for his combative rhetorical style, promised a transformed approach to immigration enforcement while committing to protect all Americans regardless of political differences. ‘I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as Secretary of Homeland Security, I’ll be protecting everybody,’ Mullin stated during the three-hour proceedings.

The nomination hearing revealed deep partisan divisions, with Republicans criticizing Democrats for the funding impasse while Democrats pressed Mullin on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practices. Several Democratic senators questioned Mullin about his previous controversial comments, including his remarks about Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old man fatally shot by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis. While expressing regret for his characterization of Pretti as ‘deranged,’ Mullin declined to apologize to the family pending investigation completion.

Judicial warrants emerged as a significant point of contention, with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) raising concerns about ICE agents allegedly being instructed to break into homes without proper authorization. Mullin committed to requiring judicial warrants for property entries unless agents are actively pursuing someone inside.

The hearing took a dramatic turn when Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), the committee chair, confronted Mullin about his past comments seemingly endorsing political violence. Paul referenced his own 2017 assault where he suffered six broken ribs, noting Mullin had previously stated he understood why the attack occurred. Despite this contentious exchange, Mullin’s nomination appears likely to advance with expected support from Senator John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania).

In an unexpected display of reconciliation, Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, appeared in the front row. O’Brien had verbally attacked Mullin during a 2023 hearing, leading to a near-physical altercation that went viral. The two men have since reconciled, with Mullin shaking only O’Brien’s hand as he approached the dais, demonstrating an unexpected political détente.

United States Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard encountered intense congressional scrutiny during a recent oversight hearing, with Democratic lawmakers demanding explanations for apparent contradictions between intelligence community assessments and White House statements regarding Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

The confrontation centered on what legislators characterized as significant discrepancies in how intelligence findings about Iran’s nuclear program have been presented by different branches of the administration. Committee members pressed the nation’s top intelligence official to clarify whether the White House had accurately represented the intelligence community’s analysis or potentially mischaracterized findings for political purposes.

Gabbard, appearing before the House Intelligence Committee, defended the integrity of the intelligence process while acknowledging the complex nature of nuclear threat assessment. She emphasized that intelligence analyses often contain nuanced findings that can be subject to varying interpretations, but maintained that all official statements had remained consistent with the underlying intelligence.

The hearing highlighted ongoing tensions between the legislative and executive branches regarding transparency in national security matters, particularly concerning sensitive intelligence on adversarial nations’ weapons programs. Lawmakers from both parties expressed concerns about maintaining clear distinctions between objective intelligence assessments and policy positions, especially regarding matters with significant geopolitical implications.

This congressional examination occurs amid heightened global attention on non-proliferation efforts and follows recent international negotiations aimed at addressing Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The intelligence community’s assessments on this matter carry substantial weight in shaping both domestic policy decisions and international diplomatic strategies.