Cuba has completely exhausted its reserves of diesel and fuel oil, Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said in an interview with state media. He stated that only limited amounts of gas are available, and the country's energy system is in a 'critical' state due to a US-led blockade on oil supplies.
Scattered protests against power cuts broke out in the capital Havana on Wednesday, according to Reuters. The US this week reiterated its offer of $100 million in aid to Cuba, conditional on 'meaningful reforms to Cuba's communist system'.
'The sum of the different types of fuel: crude oil, fuel oil, of which we have absolutely none; diesel, of which we have absolutely none – I am being repetitive – the only thing we have is gas from our wells, where production has grown,' de la O Levy said. Under the US blockade, parts of Havana have experienced blackouts lasting 20 to 22 hours, he added.
The minister acknowledged that the situation has been 'extremely tense'. Hospitals are unable to function normally, schools and government offices have been forced to close. Tourism, a key economic driver for Cuba, has also been impacted. Cuba traditionally relied on Venezuela and Mexico for oil, but both countries have largely cut off supplies since US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on nations sending fuel to Cuba.
On Wednesday evening, rare protests erupted in Havana as hundreds of Cubans took to the streets, blocking roads with burning rubbish and chanting anti-government slogans. It marked the largest single night of demonstrations since the energy crisis began in January, Reuters reported. Residents of the San Miguel del Padron neighborhood were heard shouting 'turn on the lights!', according to AFP.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel blamed the US for the shortages on social media, writing: 'This dramatic worsening has a single cause: the genocidal energy blockade to which the United States subjects our country, threatening irrational tariffs against any nation that supplies us with fuel.' Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed Cuba had rejected a $100 million humanitarian aid offer, which Cuba denied.
The US State Department repeated the offer on Wednesday, stating that aid would be distributed in coordination with the Catholic Church and 'reliable' humanitarian organizations. Washington ramped up its blockade in early May by imposing sanctions on senior Cuban officials, accusing them of 'human rights abuses'. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called the sanctions 'illegal and abusive'.
Source: www.bbc.com