The Cuban government announced Wednesday that the country has completely run out of diesel and gasoline [1].
This total depletion of fuel reserves threatens the island's basic infrastructure and daily survival for millions of citizens. Because the nation relies on these fuels for power generation and transport, the shortage creates an immediate crisis for food distribution and electricity.
The Minister of Energy and Mines said the country has no reserves of diesel and fuel [1]. This shortage has led to rotating blackouts across Havana and other regions of the island [1], [2]. The lack of fuel has paralyzed essential services, leaving many areas in darkness and restricting the movement of goods.
A spokesperson for the Cuban government said the country is completely without diesel and fuel [3]. Officials said the current crisis is due to the U.S. blockade, which they said has limited fuel imports and depleted the nation's strategic reserves [1].
The announcement occurred on May 13, 2026 [1]. While the government focuses on external pressures, the immediate result is a systemic failure of the energy grid. The rotating blackouts are a direct consequence of the inability to power the generators that sustain the national grid.
Government representatives have previously said that Cuba has the right to commercialize fuel without obstacles [4]. However, the current lack of reserves suggests that these commercial efforts have failed to keep pace with demand, or that import channels remain severely restricted.
““Não temos reservas de diesel e combustível.””
The total exhaustion of fuel reserves signals a critical failure in Cuba's energy security. By linking the shortage to the U.S. blockade, the government is framing a domestic infrastructure collapse as a geopolitical consequence. This level of depletion suggests that the state's emergency contingencies have been exhausted, likely leading to prolonged instability in public utilities and transport.
