Cuba: No requests for consular assistance, Global Affairs says

As Cuba continues to deal with a nationwide power outage and the effects of Hurricane Oscar hitting the country’s east coast, none of the confirmed 1,600 Canadians on the island have requested any consular assistance in returning to Canada, Global Affairs confirmed to CTVNews.ca.

In an emailed statement, Global Affairs says 1,627 Canadians are registered in the voluntary Registration of Canadian Abroad system, but that the number is not reflective of the exact number of Canadians in the country, as it reflects only those who choose to register or those who did not update their profile.

According to Global Affairs, it has “received 20 enquiries, mostly related to travel options and travel advice updates,” adding that officials stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadians if needed.

“We encourage Canadians to check the Travel Advice and Advisories in case of updates, and to sign up with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service to receive important information,” it said.

While parts of Havana, Cuba’s capital, regained power on Tuesday, most of the country remains in the dark. The prolonged blackout began last Thursday, following a massive outage that left the country’s near 11 million residents without power.

Attempts to resolve the issue faced delays after Oscar, which began as a hurricane and evolved into a tropical storm, made landfall on the island’s east coast Sunday night, with two of the nation’s major power plants located in the area.

With files from The Associated Press