Cuba says it has effectively run out of diesel and fuel oil, pushing the country deeper into one of its worst energy crises in decades as widespread blackouts disrupt hospitals, shut down schools and government offices, and spark faint protests in Havana.
In an interview with state media, Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said the country’s energy system was in a “critical” state and acknowledged that Cuba had “absolutely none” of the diesel and fuel oil needed to sustain normal electricity generation. He said the only meaningful energy source still available in significant quantities was domestically produced gas from Cuban wells.
Parts of Havana have reportedly been enduring blackout periods lasting between 20 and 22 hours per day.
In addition to the fact that public services have been crippled, a blow has been dealt to the touristic industry, which is one of Cuba’s few major sources of foreign currency.
The crisis comes amid intensified US pressure on countries supplying fuel to Cuba. The administration of Donald Trump has expanded sanctions on Havana and threatened penalties against states and companies that continue shipping oil to the island, significantly reducing fuel flows from traditional suppliers such as Venezuela and Mexico.
Washington this week reiterated an offer of $100 million in humanitarian assistance, saying the aid could be distributed through the Catholic Church and trusted humanitarian organizations if Cuba agreed to what US officials described as “meaningful reforms” to the country’s communist system.
Havana denied claims that it had rejected such aid and accused the United States of using humanitarian language while simultaneously worsening the crisis through sanctions.
The latest tensions follow a broader escalation in US measures against Cuba earlier this month, when Washington imposed sanctions on senior Cuban officials over alleged human rights abuses. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez condemned the measures as “illegal and abusive.”
Why doesn’t Russia take over support now? The unfolding crisis also highlights the stark difference between modern Russia and the former Soviet Union, despite Cuba’s longstanding political alignment with Moscow. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union heavily subsidized Cuba through guaranteed oil shipments, preferential trade agreements and large-scale economic assistance. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Cuba entered the devastating “Special Period” of economic collapse, marked by severe shortages and blackouts.
Although Russia and Cuba still maintain close diplomatic relations, Moscow has shown little willingness, or possibly little capacity, to recreate the massive Soviet-era support system.
Russia has sent limited oil shipments and aid to the island in recent years, but nowhere near the scale required to stabilize Cuba’s collapsing energy infrastructure.
Analysts note that Russia is itself under heavy economic pressure due to sanctions and the war in Ukraine, while transporting fuel across the Atlantic under sanctions scrutiny is costly and logistically difficult. Cuba’s own shortage of foreign currency and mounting debt problems have also made large-scale imports increasingly difficult to finance.
