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Cuba has wholly tally retired of diesel and fuel oil, the country’s Energy and Mines Minister said connected Wednesday (May 14, 2026), as the superior Havana faces its worst rolling blackouts in decades amid a U.S. blockade that has strangled the land of fuel.
“We person perfectly nary substance (oil), and perfectly nary diesel,” Energy Minister Vicente de la O said connected state-run media, adding that the nationalist grid was successful a “critical” state. “We person nary reserves.”
Blackouts person accrued dramatically this week and past crossed the superior Havana, with many neigbhorhoods without airy for 20 to 22 hours a day, the curate said, heightening tensions successful a metropolis already exhausted by food, substance and medicine shortages.
The nationalist grid, helium said, was operating wholly on home crude oil, earthy gas and renewable energy.
Cuba has installed 1,300 megawatts of star powerfulness implicit the past 2 years, but overmuch of that capableness is mislaid to grid instability amid the fuel shortages, de la O said, reducing ratio and output.
The country’s apical vigor authoritative said Cuba continued negotiations to import substance contempt the blockade, but said rising global lipid and proscription prices amid the U.S.-Israeli warfare with Iran were further complicating that effort.
“Cuba is unfastened to anyone that wants to merchantability america fuel,” the Minister said.
Neither Mexico nor Venezuela, erstwhile apical suppliers of lipid to Cuba, person sent substance to the land since Trump’s January 2026 enforcement bid threatening to slap tariffs connected immoderate state shipping substance to the communist-run nation.
Only a azygous ample lipid tanker, the Russian-flagged Anatoly Kolodkin, has delivered crude lipid to Cuba since December, providing temporary alleviation to the land successful April.
The renewed powerfulness cuts successful Havana and beyond travel arsenic the U.S. blockade connected substance imports to Cuba enters its 4th month, crippling nationalist services crossed the Caribbean land of astir 10 cardinal people.
The United Nations past week called Mr. Trump’s substance blockade unlawful, saying it had obstructed the “Cuban people’s close to improvement portion undermining their rights to food, education, health, and h2o and sanitation.”
