
Audio By Carbonatix
Cuba has completely run out of diesel and fuel oil, the country's energy and mines minister said on Wednesday, as the capital Havana faces its worst rolling blackouts in decades amid a U.S. blockade that has strangled the island of fuel.
"We have absolutely no fuel (oil), and absolutely no diesel," Energy Minister Vicente de la O said on state-run media, adding that the national grid was in a "critical" state. "We have no reserves."
Blackouts have increased dramatically this week and last across the capital Havana, with many neighbourhoods without light for 20 to 22 hours a day, the minister said, heightening tensions in a city already exhausted by food, fuel and medicine shortages.
The national grid, he said, was operating entirely on domestic crude oil, natural gas and renewable energy.
Cuba has installed 1,300 megawatts of solar power over the past two years, but much of that capacity is lost to grid instability amid the fuel shortages, de la O said, reducing efficiency and output.
The country's top energy official said Cuba continued negotiations to import fuel despite the blockade, but said rising global oil and transportation prices amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran were further complicating that effort.
"Cuba is open to anyone who wants to sell us fuel," the minister said.
Neither Mexico nor Venezuela, once top suppliers of oil to Cuba, have sent fuel to the island since Trump's January 2026 executive order threatening to slap tariffs on any country shipping fuel to the communist-run nation.
Only a single large oil tanker, the Russian-flagged Anatoly Kolodkin, has delivered crude oil to Cuba since December, providing temporary relief to the island in April.
The renewed power cuts in Havana and beyond come as the U.S. blockade on fuel imports to Cuba enters its fourth month, crippling public services across the Caribbean island of nearly 10 million people.
The United Nations last week called Trump's fuel blockade unlawful, saying it had obstructed the "Cuban people’s right to development while undermining their rights to food, education, health, and water and sanitation."
Latest Stories
-
Dyson Energy Wins €25,000 ShEquity grant to advance carbon certification
7 minutes -
Continuity: The most powerful force nobody talks about
10 minutes -
Three arrested over alleged human trafficking and forced prostitution
10 minutes -
Heavy rains leave Avenor roads in disrepair as commuters and motorists decry worsening conditions
33 minutes -
Six NPP members allege denial of fair hearing in Nandom constituency election dispute
39 minutes -
Ahafo cocoa farmers demand urgent action as smuggling threatens livelihoods and national economy
41 minutes -
Businesses call for tax reforms at Ghana Business League Awards
44 minutes -
Government endorses AI Week 2026 in Accra to push practical adoption across Africa
47 minutes -
A trip to India left me with 38 parasites in my brain
49 minutes -
Reject shortcuts, live with integrity and avoid drugs – Mahama to youth
51 minutes -
Transport paralysed in Amansie Central as drivers strike over bad roads, fare dispute
55 minutes -
Several killed and injured in fire at Antwerp apartment building
56 minutes -
Chris Brown found liable in $12.9m dog attack lawsuit involving housekeeper
56 minutes -
Liquidity in banking industry improved in 2025, but credit risk remains elevated – BoG
57 minutes -
GoldBod introduces dual daily pricing system for gold trading in Ghana
1 hour