A video posted this past Monday on TikTok by content creator ElyCubita_Vlog has gone viral, showcasing how a group of Cubans devised a homemade solution to move their motorcycle using just half a liter of gasoline, due to the difficulty of obtaining sufficient fuel on the island. The clip was originally published on TikTok on March 23, 2026.
The author describes the situation with humor and resignation: "I don't know if you're going to laugh at this invention we made, but I assure you it's like screaming and going crazy. Here we have half a liter of gasoline, and there was no other option but to solve it this way because we needed to get out." The description of the video sums it all up in four words: "WE MANAGED WITH GREAT DIFFICULTY...".
The clip garnered over 25,500 views, 440 likes, and 57 shares in just a few days, resonating deeply with a population facing the worst fuel crisis in decades.
The context surrounding this situation is devastating. Since January 2026, Cuba has stopped receiving Venezuelan oil, its historically main source of supply. On February 7, the regime completely suspended the sale of gasoline in Cuban pesos and canceled the sale of diesel for civilians, making only gasoline available in dollars through the state application Ticket, with a limit of 20 liters per visit.
The problem is that Cubans earn in pesos. As ElyCubita_Vlog explains: "The State only sells you gasoline if you take a turn through a gas application. By the way, they sell it to you in dollars, and you know that here we get paid in national currency and 1 dollar currently exceeds 500 Cuban pesos."
In the informal market, the price of gasoline ranges between 4,000 and 6,000 Cuban pesos, which is equivalent to between 6 and 8 dollars. With a minimum wage of only 2,100 pesos per month —unchanged since January 2021— a single liter of fuel can cost the equivalent of a month and a half of work.
A Cuban managed to pay 50,000 pesos for just 10 liters on the black market, about 100 dollars.
The Ticket application, managed by Cimex, has waiting lists ranging from 7,000 to 15,000 requests per gas station, with only 50 to 90 vehicles serviced each day. Comedian Otto Ortiz revealed on Wednesday that his turn was number 15,551, estimating a wait time of up to 10 months.
The ingenuity displayed in the video by ElyCubita_Vlog is part of a long Cuban tradition of "finding a way" in response to the shortcomings of the system: expanded tanks on motorcycles, motorized bicycles known as riquimbilis, adaptations for liquefied gas, and vehicles powered by cane ethanol. As the author herself concludes, "What we Cubans have is that we always find a solution to everything." A phrase that, in this context, sounds more like a cry for survival than a celebration.
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