Related videos:
A shipment of 700,000 barrels of crude oil sent by Russia at the end of March will barely last for seven to ten days of supply in Cuba, according to official estimates and historical import averages, highlighting that the shipment does not address the structural crisis the island is facing.
The United States allowed the Russian-flagged tanker to reach the port of Matanzas on March 31, breaking months of oil blockade, but clarified that the authorization was for humanitarian reasons and did not imply a change in policy; future authorizations would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Cuba produces less than a third of the oil it consumes —about 40,000 barrels daily compared to a demand of between 90,000 and 110,000— and relies almost entirely on imports to sustain its economy and electrical grid.
Oil accounts for 87% of the total energy consumption of the island, significantly higher than the regional average of 54%, and its neighbors Jamaica (75%) and the Dominican Republic (61%), which have managed to diversify their energy mix in recent decades.
Cuban thermoelectric plants, which run on fuel oil and diesel, consume twice as much fuel as all other sectors combined, making any shortage of crude oil an immediate blackout for the 10 million inhabitants of the island.
The crisis abruptly escalated on January 3, 2026, when U.S. Army forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, cutting off the flow of oil that Venezuela had maintained for over 20 years in exchange for medical and security services, without cash payment.
The last shipment from Venezuela arrived in December 2025; the one from Mexico arrived about a week after Maduro's capture; and in February, only a small cargo from Jamaica arrived.
In the first week of April, the deficit in electricity generation exceeded 1,900 megawatts, with a supply of just 1,205 megawatts compared to a demand of 3,020 megawatts.
Most Cubans, including those residing in Havana, experienced 16 or more hours of daily blackouts even before the first total collapse of the electrical grid.
In March, the residents of Havana were lining up to get water from tanker trucks: the state-owned company Aguas de La Habana confirmed that the pumping schedules had been disrupted due to a lack of electricity.
Cuban health authorities warned about the risk of mortality for cancer patients, especially children, while the director of the World Health Organization warned on March 25 about the danger for urgent patients, including pregnant women.
On March 14, protesters in Morón (Ciego de Ávila) attacked the municipal headquarters of the Communist Party, set furniture on fire, and shouted "Freedom!"
Filed under: