A passenger bus covering the route from Camagüey to Havana resorted to an extreme solution this Tuesday due to fuel shortages: pouring 30 bottles of cooking oil into the diesel tank to mix it with the little fuel that was left to complete the journey.
The incident was documented on video and shared with the independent medium elTOQUE, which published it on its Facebook page, where it quickly went viral.
The person who reported the incident explained the reasoning behind the improvisation with a phrase that summarizes the energy paradox the island is experiencing: "oil is more expensive than gasoline."
Each bottle of oil costs approximately 1,500 Cuban pesos, according to what is heard in the audio of the video.
Diesel has reached a black market price of 4,500 pesos per liter and a half or even more, making cooking oil a more accessible option for travelers stranded on the road.
The images, which show how the oil is poured directly into the truck's tank, sparked an avalanche of reactions on social media, where astonishment mingled with dark humor, criticism, and technical concern.
"The fryer truck", one user joked, while another commented: "If I'm on the truck and I see this, I'll get off before they say the fare."
Others reacted with sarcasm to the unusual scene: "The highway cooks," "Throw in some fries for a snack," or "French fries should come out of the exhaust."
There were also those who questioned the consequences of the experiment.
"There is no injection system that can withstand that. Only a crazy person would come up with such an idea," warned an internet user; while another cautioned that "that is not fuel and will generate such a quantity of carbon in the cylinders and pistons that it will end up damaging the engine."
Some tried to explain the phenomenon from experience: "The old school knows it well: oil is more expensive than cooking oil; used oil is also used."
Another added "For those who don't know: if the engine is running, nothing happens, but when you turn it off, the diesel does not mix with the oil and damages the injection system. Very bad idea."
The debate also allowed room for skepticism and disbelief: "It must be a joke," wrote one commentator, while another asserted, "That's a lie, cooking oil doesn't mix with diesel and destroys the injection system."
There were also deeper readings on the reality of the country.
"We are alive purely by miracle. The creativity of Cubans knows no bounds. 'Necessity is the mother of invention.'"
The economic impact of the episode did not go unnoticed
"You'll see how the price of cooking oil skyrockets," warned one internet user, while another joked, "I can already see the bottle of oil competing with oil."
Amid the humor, some even doubted the outcome of the journey: "Give me the full scoop: did the truck make it to Havana?" asked one user, while another joked, "The story goes that they're still in Camagüey."
Critical fuel situation in Cuba
Camagüey suspended interprovincial transportation and gasoline sales at state gas stations since February 6, 2026 due to a lack of fuel, which has driven drivers and passengers to increasingly desperate solutions.
Private tickets on the Havana-Camagüey route have reached prices of up to 15,000 pesos.
This situation is part of a broader transportation crisis: by the end of 2025, out of a fleet of 558 interprovincial buses, only 219 -40% of the fleet- were still in service.
The fuel shortage has also sparked desperate creativity: recently, a case went viral about a Fiat Polski adapted to run on charcoal, another example of Cuban ingenuity in the face of the energy crisis.
Beyond the viral anecdote, the episode reflects just how far the energy crisis in Cuba is pushing the population toward extreme solutions, where ingenuity coexists with risk and precariousness.
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