Cuba is running on fumes. A US pressure campaign that began in late January has effectively halted oil deliveries to the island, and the result is a power crisis travellers can't ignore: blackouts stretching up to 20 hours a day, hospitals running on generators, and fuel prices on the black market above $6 per litre.
Here's the state of play. On February 20, President Trump signed an order dropping the tariff threat he'd imposed on countries supplying oil to Cuba. But that's a tactical retreat, not a U-turn — the emergency declaration over Cuba (in place since 1996) stands, and other tools remain. The Coast Guard intercepted a Colombian tanker carrying over 84,000 barrels to Havana on February 9, and Mexico, which supplied 44% of Cuba's imported oil in 2025, has suspended deliveries. A tanker with Russian diesel was reportedly en route to Havana in late February, a test of whether the naval squeeze holds.
The knock-on effects are real. The health minister has warned that ambulance services and hospital power are being hit, and that flights carrying medical supplies have been suspended — a sign of how aviation and logistics are tangibly affected. Cuba needs roughly 100,000 barrels a day; domestic production covers only about 40% of that. Analysts are watching for an energy 'zero hour' in early March, when reserves could run critically low.
For anyone with a Cuba trip booked or in the works, the practical picture is this: expect scheduled and unscheduled power cuts, potentially unreliable domestic transport (fuel for buses, rental cars and taxis is scarce and expensive), and possible disruption to internal flights and services. The private sector — the casas particulares, paladares and small tour operators that visitors increasingly rely on — is under severe strain, with a local consultancy reporting that 96% of small and medium enterprises are near collapse.
None of this means you can't visit: resorts in Varadero and the cays typically have their own generators, and travel itself isn't restricted for most nationalities. But independent travel outside the resort bubble will feel the crisis directly — bring cash, patience, a power bank and a headlamp, and build slack into any itinerary involving domestic connections. Watch the news closely through March, as the situation is fluid on both the diplomatic and energy fronts.
