Trump Tightens Energy Squeeze on Cuba: Blackouts, Fuel Lines, and Economic Strain

Cuba is facing one of its worst energy crises in years amid rolling blackouts plunging cities into darkness and fuel shortages triggering long queues at gas stations. The U.S., under former President Donald Trump’s renewed pressure strategy, has intensified restrictions on oil imports—targeting Cuba’s lifeline from Venezuela—and warned third countries against exporting fuel to the island, citing national security concerns. Eastern Cuba remains largely without power following a major grid failure in Santiago de Cuba on February 4, 2026. Since late 2024, the island nation of 9.6 million has endured five nationwide blackouts, some lasting multiple days. While Havana expresses openness to ‘substantive’ dialogue with Washington, it firmly rejects any discussion of political system change—drawing parallels to U.S. constitutional sovereignty. Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío emphasized that Cuba will not negotiate its constitutional order, calling Washington’s rhetoric on regime change both baseless and counterproductive. As energy scarcity reshapes daily life, the crisis underscores how geopolitical pressure is increasingly channeled through infrastructure vulnerability.