Crisis in Cuba: the country is experiencing shortages of oil and electricity under pressure from the United States

Cuba has not found new oil suppliers after the cessation of supplies from Venezuela, Izvestia found out. The situation in the country is quite critical, and there are not many solutions to the problem. Some states, including the Russian Federation, are far away, and the purchase of large volumes is too expensive for Cubans. Its own oil is of poor quality. Therefore, Havana is trying to boost the development of alternative energy, in particular, with the help of technologies from Chile, an informed editorial source said. Energy instability is unfolding against the backdrop of threats from the United States, which, according to American media, is preparing a coup on the island.

The energy crisis in Cuba

Havana has not yet managed to find a replacement for Venezuelan oil, an informed Cuban source told Izvestia. The US actions in the Latin American country, including the seizure of President Nicolas Maduro, have led to an energy crisis on the island.

— Now we have really serious problems with oil, — said the interlocutor of Izvestia. — This is the reason why we have so many problems with electricity supply and lack of fuel.

Donald Trump announced the cessation of Venezuelan oil supplies to Cuba after the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife. In 2025, Caracas exported about 26.5 thousand barrels of oil per day to Havana. This volume covered up to 50% of Cuba's energy needs.

There has been a blockade against it since 1991. According to an informed Izvestia source, ships entering Cuban ports are prohibited from stopping in the United States for the next six months. This is extremely unprofitable for global companies. The United States is one of the largest markets in the world, whose ports are critically important for logistics in the Americas. The risk of losing access to the U.S. market forces shipowners to avoid Cuban routes.

— Such vessels often have to be bought back in their entirety, along with the oil, so that the tanker can deliver it to the Cuban port. Can you imagine how expensive an investment this is," the Izvestia source emphasized.

According to the source, it is unprofitable for Cuba to buy oil from Russia or the UAE, since the suppliers are far away, which dramatically increases the cost of contracts.

Now most of the fuel goes to electric generators. People are often left without electricity on the island. Even in the capital, power outages can last for four hours, and in remote provinces — up to 20 hours or more. Without electricity, water problems appear: pumps stop working, as a result, residents cannot extract drinking water from wells. Power outages directly affect the country's economy: they paralyze public transport and suspend the work of enterprises. It's also hard for medical institutions.

Cuba's electric power system is badly worn out and in need of major repairs and modernization. Many power plants were built several decades ago and have not received sufficient maintenance. People are being saved from blackouts by personal solar panels.

"Residents are actively installing them in their homes, which allows them to partially disconnect from the general power grid and not depend entirely on it," an informed source added. — We have a lot of sun all year round, and solar panels can immediately start generating electricity, thereby replacing expensive oil imports.

The Cuban authorities are actively developing alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. There are at least 26 solar farms in operation. By 2028, they want to increase their number to 92 in order to reach a total capacity of 2,000 MW. The government relies on "clean" energy because it is more affordable. According to Izvestia's interlocutor, the country has signed a contract with the Republic of Chile, which supplies equipment as part of a program to replace petroleum fuels with renewable energy sources.

The island has great potential in using alternative energy sources, but so far they do not cover the needs of the country. For example, in 2023, about 95% of Cuba's electricity came from fossil fuels. Currently, the construction of alternative energy facilities is delayed due to a lack of resources. In addition, there are no storage systems. Only four solar parks should have batteries for energy storage.

Meanwhile, there is another alternative — their own oil fields. But they cannot replace the large import needs. A significant part of the fossils belong to hard-to-recover categories. The Cuban side admits that its own oil is of poor quality.

By the way, power outages have previously aggravated the social situation: in 2024, a wave of mass protests swept through the country. And this is exactly what Cuba's long—time enemies, the United States, need, where they openly declared their desire to regain control of the entire Western Hemisphere.

Pirate Flank: US operation against Venezuela intensifies fuel crisis in Cuba

Caracas provides a quarter of the island nation's needs.

The threat to Cuba from the United States

The United States intends to change power in Cuba by the end of the year, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing its sources. Now the administration of Donald Trump is looking for influential people in the government of the country to carry out a coup that fully fits into the new national security strategy.

After the operation in Venezuela, the United States increased pressure on Cuba. Trump publicly threatened the country and said that if Havana did not make a "deal" on the Americans' terms, the fate of Caracas awaited it. He did not say what kind of deal the American leader had in mind.

"Cuba is the next obvious target for the United States after Venezuela, because the economies of Cuba and Venezuela are very closely intertwined," Malek Dudakov, an American political scientist, told Izvestia.

The deep connection between the two countries can be traced even in the fact that 32 Cuban soldiers who were part of Maduro's personal security service were killed. In this regard, two days of national mourning were previously declared on the island.

The main initiator of the new American military operation is Marco Rubio, the first US Secretary of State of Cuban origin, Dudakov noted.

"For him, this is literally a pocket project and an opportunity to make a name for himself by overthrowing the government and putting pro—American forces there," the expert emphasized.

The Americans most likely want to promote the opposition, which is actually located in the United States — in Miami. Opponents of Fidel Castro's rule left for the United States during the 1959 revolution. Miami became the base for organizing operations against Cuba. Openly terrorist and extremist organizations were based here, which the US authorities covered up in order to be able to fight the communist government on the island with the hands of the Cubans themselves.

According to Dudakov, Cuban emigration will play a role inside the United States in the congressional elections in November 2026. Cubans actively support the Republicans.

— Closer to the congressional elections in the fall, Trump will try to show that the Republicans are ready to stage a regime change operation. But it's not a fact that it will happen. This is more likely to be an element of their election campaign," the expert emphasized.

The Americans want to avoid the scenario of a real military invasion in every possible way after the disastrous experience of landing in the Bay of Pigs. The operation was organized on April 17-19, 1961, with the participation of the U.S. government in order to overthrow Fidel Castro. It ended in complete failure and became one of the most significant defeats of the CIA in history.

Nevertheless, the United States has serious levers of pressure, including the Guantanamo base, said Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, an American political scientist. But using a force scenario is expensive and risky. The costs of the military operation will be enormous, and the acquisitions will be quite modest. Nevertheless, Cuba does not have the same treasure trove of natural resources as Venezuela, the expert stressed.

A much more likely scenario is the organization of protests and the subsequent "color revolution." The prerequisites for the rallies already exist — the aforementioned energy crisis, which the United States will undoubtedly intensify in every possible way.