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World
Havana faces over 20 hours of daily blackouts after Russian oil donations are exhausted, warns Cuba’s energy minister.
Havana is enduring more than 20 hours of daily power cuts after Cuba fully consumed the Russian oil shipment donated in late March, according to a stark warning from Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy. The minister described the situation as “extremely tense and getting hotter” during a special appearance on Cuban state television, noting that fuel reserves needed to run the electrical grid are nearly depleted. “We have absolutely no diesel,” he said.
The Caribbean island is experiencing prolonged blackouts that in some areas stretch across most of the day, prompting small groups of residents to take to the streets at night, banging pots in protest as outages grow longer. Citizens complain they cannot charge devices such as electric bicycles and mobile phones, and some must wake up during the brief windows when power is available to perform essential tasks like laundry and cooking.
The minister said the country is increasingly relying on solar energy thanks to panels provided by China, but cloud cover and weather conditions cause significant fluctuations in output. Without costly battery storage systems, no electricity is available during nighttime hours or peak demand periods. Beyond the donated Russian oil shipment, Cuban officials say they have been blocked from receiving any oil shipments from the United States for more than four months.
The US administration is seeking to pressure the Cuban government into opening the country politically and economically, and to remove its top leadership in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. On Wednesday, Washington renewed its offer of $100 million in aid to Cuba while increasing pressure on the country to cooperate amid its economic crisis. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking last week in Rome, said Cuba had rejected a $100 million aid offer—a claim denied by the communist government in Havana. The US State Department publicly reiterated the proposal on Wednesday, which comes after Washington imposed new sanctions on key parts of Cuba’s state-controlled economy.
The State Department announced in a statement that it is offering $100 million in aid to the island to implement “meaningful reforms in the Cuban communist system,” adding that the decision rests with the Cuban government: either accept the assistance or refuse it and bear responsibility for obstructing humanitarian aid.
Despite the US escalation against Cuba and the Trump administration’s repeated threats of a military strike on Havana, informed sources say there is no consensus within the Republican Party for military action against the island. US and Cuban sources familiar with the matter agree that the prospect of military action against Cuba has become relatively unlikely, as opposition grows within the Republican Party itself. President Donald Trump has stated that the Cuban government is on the verge of collapse and that he is considering using military force to take control of the island. For its part, the Cuban authorities have rejected this pressure and vowed to resist any military intervention by force.
