Cuba Says It's Completely Out of Fuel Amid US Blockade

Cuba's lights are going out as its energy minister says the fuel has run completely out, Reuters reports. On state TV Wednesday, Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O said the island has "absolutely no" diesel or fuel oil left, describing the national grid as "critical" and without reserves. Havana is now seeing some of its longest blackouts in decades, with many neighborhoods in the dark up to 20-22 hours a day amid broader shortages of food, fuel, and medicine. De la O blamed a US fuel blockade, now in its fourth month, and said Cuba is running entirely on domestic crude, natural gas, and renewables, though grid problems mean much of its 1,300 megawatts of newly installed solar power isn't fully used.

Former key suppliers Mexico and Venezuela have halted shipments to Cuba since a 2026 US order threatened tariffs on countries sending fuel to the island nation; only one major Russian tanker has arrived since December. De la O said Cuba is willing to buy from "anyone that wants to sell us fuel." The UN last week called the US fuel restrictions unlawful and said they were undermining basic rights on the island, and the Guardian reports the blockade has caused "chaos" in the country's healthcare system and tourist industry, and has also forced schools and universities to close. Havana saw scattered protests against the rolling blackouts Wednesday, the BBC reports. The US has offered $100 million in aid to Cuba, but only if it offers "meaningful reforms" to its communist system in exchange.