Measures imposed by the US under Donald Trump have effectively cut off oil flows from Venezuela, historically Cuba’s main supplier. Washington has also warned other countries against exporting fuel to the island.
Speaking at the White House this week, the US President said, “I do believe I’ll be having the honour of taking Cuba. Whether I free it, take it, or think I could do anything I want with it.”Cuba has received only limited shipments this year, small volumes from Mexico and Jamaica, while no major deliveries have reached key ports. Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, has not sent fuel to Cuba in 2026, the Guardian reported.
Authorities said efforts to restore power were underway, adding that no immediate faults were detected in the units operating at the time, as per CNN. Some areas began seeing partial restoration within hours, but much of the island remained in the dark.
The shortage has pushed fuel prices sharply higher on the informal market, making it unaffordable for most citizens.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said no oil had reached the island in the past three months, calling the impact ‘tremendous’ and saying it has caused “anguish among the population.”
Hospitals have reduced services, transport has been cut, and garbage collection has slowed due to fuel shortages. Internet traffic has dropped sharply, falling to about one-third of normal levels, according to network monitoring data cited by CNN. Protests have broken out in cities like Moron over electricity cuts and food shortages.Fuel scarcity has also affected travel. Airlines, including Air Canada, have suspended flights to Cuba due to a lack of aviation fuel.
Trump, earlier this month, said that the US focus remains on Iran before turning to Cuba. The US and Israel’s latest war on Iran has been met with retaliatory attacks across the region. It has also disrupted global oil supplies.
Ship traffic is paralysed after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, which transits over one-fifth of the global supply.
At home, the war has received limited public support. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that only about one in four Americans approve of US strikes on Iran, while a larger share opposes them or remains uncertain.
What the MAGA base says
While most Republican leaders have backed Trump, parts of his core MAGA base are divided. With the Midterm elections only months away, some supporters argue the war contradicts his earlier promise to avoid “endless wars” and focus on the US economy.
“If this war is a swift, easy, and decisive victory, most of them will get over it,” Blake Neff, a former producer for late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, wrote on X on Saturday. “But if the war is anything else, there will be a lot of anger.” He added that “success can override bad explanations. So, we must pray for success.”
Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said the deaths of US soldiers “bring home the cost of the war.”
“Americans… don’t want to be tied up in an ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” he told Al Jazeera, adding the deaths show “this is not just a video game.”
