A video posted on Facebook showcases a scooter modified to run on charcoal, filmed in Esperanza, Villa Clara province, and the image has sparked a wave of reactions that summarize the country's state: "Cuba is going back to the past."
The clip, published by the account «Mio y Tuyo Renta Maikel», has accumulated over 413,000 views, nearly 11,000 likes, and 511 comments. The narrator describes in amazement the system installed in the vehicle, which has a Soviet-made Moskvitch engine: “Look, a scooter with coal. It's the scooter going forward with coal. And it's right here in Esperanza, it's not a joke.”
The ingenuity lies in a handcrafted gasifier: an extractor converts coal into combustible gas, which passes through a purifier and a filter before reaching the carburetor. "That extractor is what draws the fuel forward into the carburetor," the narrator explains. The vehicle was brought from San Diego del Valle by people originally from Encrucijada, also in Villa Clara.
It is not the first case. In March 2026, mechanic Juan Carlos Pino, from Aguacate in Havana, adapted a 1980 Fiat Polski to run on coal using a gas generator made from scrap parts and a propane tank as a combustion chamber, a case that also made headlines around the world.
Both inventions respond to the same cause: the most severe fuel crisis Cuba has faced in decades. Venezuela stopped sending crude oil in November 2025, and Mexico practically halted its shipments in early 2026. Cuba needs about eight fuel ships per month, and between December 2025 and the end of April 2026, it received only one significant shipment.
On May 14, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, publicly admitted that Cuba had no reserves of fuel oil or diesel. The government responded by raising the official prices of gasoline in foreign currency: the B100 price rose to 2.60 dollars per liter on May 15. In the informal market, the liter is already priced between 4,000 and 6,000 Cuban pesos, equivalent to between seven and eleven dollars.
Lines of more than 15 hours to purchase just 20 liters of gasoline have become commonplace across the island. The UN described the situation as having a "systemic and increasingly severe" humanitarian impact on March 26, estimating that 94 million dollars are needed for the humanitarian response, with a deficit of nearly 60 million.
The gasifier technology —which converts coal or wood into combustible gas through partial combustion— was perfected by French engineer Georges Imbert in the 1920s and mass-produced starting in 1931. During World War II, Germany had around 500,000 vehicles adapted with this system. Its limitations are significant: it reduces engine power by between 35% and 50%, may require up to 90 minutes of preparation before starting, and needs gasoline for the initial ignition.
In the face of the collapse, Cubans have also turned to electric tricycles, solar panel bicitaxis, and electric polaquitos to get around without fuel. The video description sums it up with the characteristic resignation of popular ingenuity: “When times get tough, the Cuban finds a way.”
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