The Cuban Young Communists Union (UJC) published a video on Facebook this week attributing the blackouts lasting over 15 and 24 hours daily, the fuel shortages, and the closure of universities solely to three measures taken by the Trump administration. The response from Cubans in the comments was overwhelmingly critical.
In the video, a young influencer from the youth organization of the Communist Party points out the responsibilities behind the executive order of January 29, 2026, which threatens tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba; the one from May 1, 2026, which extends secondary sanctions to foreign companies that trade with the island; and the sanctions imposed by the Department of the Treasury on May 7, which included the designation of GAESA and other entities of the Cuban military apparatus. The video concludes with the rhetorical question, "Who does the U.S. government think it is to punish our people?"
Cubans quickly dismantled the official narrative point by point and criticized the messenger of the official propaganda.
James Ventura wrote the comment that resonated the most: "It is no coincidence that Gaesa has millions and doesn't use it for the well-being of the people, that they have invested in empty hotels and have not allocated a single cent to prioritized sectors, and it is no coincidence that you are so indoctrinated."
Jonathan Vallejo López was more direct in highlighting the chronological contradiction of the official argument: “Maduro was taken on January 3rd; before that date they were giving oil to the regime, and the blackouts were the same as they are now.” Venezuela halted its crude oil shipments in November 2025, months before Trump signed any executive order.
Ernesto Almaguer Díaz pointed directly to the regime's priorities: "It is not a coincidence that they built a K tower in Vedado and spent over 200 million dollars instead of repairing a thermoelectric plant. Just as it is not a coincidence that those who tell you to resist hunger weigh more than 300 pounds and do not know what a blackout feels like." The K Tower is a 42-story hotel controlled by GAESA, the military conglomerate that dominates the Cuban economy and has invested 24.2 billion dollars in tourism over the past 15 years compared to only 1.75 billion in public health.
Kevin Albornoz Velasquez went beyond criticism and proposed a solution: "The solution is very simple. Hold free elections with multipartyism, grant freedom to political prisoners, and dissolve the PCC. With just these three things, which can be accomplished in less than a week, Cuba will be free and prosperous again."
The propaganda of the UJC clashes with a reality that the regime itself cannot hide. The Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O Levy, admitted last Wednesday that Cuba "absolutely has no fuel, no diesel, only accompanying gas," and that in April only one fuel vessel arrived out of the eight that the country needs monthly. The power outage record of 2026 was registered last Wednesday, with a maximum impact of 2,113 MW.
The credibility of the UJC's propaganda campaign also faces an overwhelming demographic reality: 97.61% of young Cubans aged 18 to 30 disapprove of the government's management, 78% of residents in Cuba want to emigrate, and in 2024, the island recorded 71,374 births compared to 130,645 deaths, nearly double the number of deaths compared to births. It is the same young people whom the UJC asks to "resist" who are fleeing Cuba en masse or studying by candlelight, as acknowledged by the organization's own video.
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