The Cuban Daudy Cuervo published a video on Facebook that summarizes with anger and astonishment the reality of fuel in Cuba: he paid 12,000 pesos for just three liters of gasoline in the informal market, at 4,000 pesos per liter, while prices in June 2026 have already reached 16,000 pesos for the same amount.
"Look at this. I'm all sweaty right now because I just went to get three liters of gasoline. Three little liters from here. Twelve thousand pesos," Cuervo says in the video, visibly outraged.
The fuel they sold him allegedly arrived in tanker containers and with uncertain origins. "They say it's imported gasoline, that it came in a tanker, that it came from Afghanistan, that it came from Greenland, that it came from Panama. I don't know where this gasoline is from; it looks like bleach," the Cuban complains, also questioning the quality of the product: "They say this is better than the premium, and it smells, it smells like acetone."
What confuses content creators the most is the paradox faced daily by any Cuban in need of fuel: "There's gasoline everywhere, but the prices don't go down. Twelve thousand pesos cost me three liters at four thousand pesos per liter. The prices won't drop. Everyone has gasoline, everyone posts about having gasoline, whether it's imported or not, but the prices just don't decrease."
This paradox has an explanation. There is a scheme for reselling tourist gasoline through which state rental cars receive 20 liters daily at CIMEX stations for between $1.10 and $1.20 per liter, and then resell it on the black market for about seven dollars per liter, resulting in daily profits of between $40 and $50. The fuel circulates, but at prices that the majority of Cubans cannot afford.
To gauge the economic impact: the minimum wage in Cuba is 2,100 pesos per month. Paying 12,000 pesos for three liters is equivalent to almost six minimum wages. If the price rises to 16,000 pesos —as indicated by the current situation in June— the figure exceeds seven minimum wages for an amount of fuel that barely allows for a few kilometers on a motorcycle.
In April, another Cuban paid 18,000 pesos for three liters on the black market, demonstrating that prices fluctuate wildly depending on the time and area.
The crisis is not new, but it has accelerated. In January 2026, the price per liter on the informal market ranged from 700 to 1,500 pesos depending on the province.
On May 12, the Cuban government announced the abandonment of the fixed price for fuel in foreign currency, applying "floating prices" starting on May 15. Since then, the special B100 gasoline at CIMEX stations selling in foreign currency has reached $2.60 per liter, but the majority of the population does not have access to foreign currency and relies on the informal market.
Cuervo ended his video with a warning: "If my motorcycle breaks down, there’s going to be a huge uproar. They're going to have to hear me on all the radio stations."
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