Havana: Protests exploded across Cuba’s capital on Wednesday night amid the worst power cuts in decades, driven by a US blockade that has severed the island’s fuel lifeline, Reuters reported.
Hundreds of irate Cubans in several peripheral districts flooded the streets, torching piles of garbage to clog roads while slamming pots and chanting “Turn on the lights!” and “The people, united, will never be defeated!”
Reuters observed various clusters of largely peaceful demonstrators at multiple city locations, the biggest outburst in one night since the crisis gripped the nation in January.
Earlier, Cuba’s energy and mines minister revealed the country had depleted its diesel and fuel oil stocks entirely, pushing the national grid into “critical” territory. “We have absolutely no fuel (oil), and absolutely no diesel,” Energy Minister Vicente de la O stated on state media. “We have no reserves.”
This week’s blackout escalation has hit Havana hard, with numerous areas enduring 20-22 hours without power daily — compounding exhaustion from scarcities in essentials such as food, fuel and medicines.
De la O noted the grid now depends wholly on local crude oil, natural gas and renewables. Over the last two years, Cuba installed 1,300 megawatts of solar power, yet fuel-driven grid fragility has eroded much of that capacity’s effectiveness and yield.
Desperate Bids For Fuel Imports
The top energy official stressed that the country continued to hold talks to secure fuel despite the blockade, though the US-Israeli conflict with Iran has driven up worldwide oil prices and shipping rates, adding to the hurdles.
“Cuba is open to anyone that wants to sell us fuel,” the minister said.
Neither Mexico nor Venezuela — previously prime oil providers to Cuba — has shipped fuel since Trump’s January 2026 executive order slapping tariffs on nations sending it to the communist-ruled island nation.
A lone Russian tanker, the Anatoly Kolodkin, supplied crude to Cuba since December, offering short-lived respite in April.
These fresh outages in Havana and elsewhere coincide with the US fuel import blockade hitting four months, devastating public services for the Caribbean nation’s near-10 million inhabitants.
Last week, the United Nations termed Trump’s blockade illegal, arguing it blocks “the Cuban people’s right to development while undermining their rights to food, education, health, and water and sanitation.”
