Full Breakdown
Cuba’s Deepening Power, Water and Fuel Crisis
9/9/2026, 4:38:54 PM
Deepening Humanitarian Crisis
Cuba’s nearly 10 million residents are confronting prolonged blackouts that now exceed 24 hours a day, intermittent water service and dwindling fuel supplies. The shortages have forced many to rely on makeshift solutions—collecting water from street pipes, scavenging garbage for animal feed, and selling flowers for a few cents. Residents such as 81-year-old Oscar Joaquín López and 60-year-old street-vendor Armando Lafita describe an everyday reality in which “everybody is fighting to survive,” and the psychological strain is evident in clinics where physicians also act as informal counselors.
Policy Background and Economic Pressures
The crisis follows a series of U.S. measures that intensified existing sanctions. In late January, President Donald Trump announced tariffs on any nation that supplied oil to Cuba, adding to the long-standing embargo. The Cuban government attributes the deteriorating power grid, water infrastructure and fuel scarcity to these combined pressures.
Daily Life Amid Shortages
Primary-care physician Yomeidis Felicó Riverón observes that families conceal hunger from children, saying, “My son doesn’t know if there’s food or if there’s no food.” Elderly residents like 70-year-old José Manuel Borroto Díaz, a retired aviation official, stress the importance of family, noting that “our situation is like something out of a movie, but we’re going to press on.”
Official U.S. Embassy Health Alerts
The U.S. Embassy in Havana has issued two public-health alerts. The first warned that Cuba’s water-supply infrastructure is increasingly unstable, leading to prolonged periods without municipal water. A subsequent alert linked a rise in gastrointestinal illnesses—including E. coli, norovirus and Shigella—to the degradation of water and energy systems.
