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The Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla published a message on X this Friday in which he attributed two specific problems affecting the Cuban population to the oil embargo imposed by the United States: the delay in distributing the 15,000 tons of rice donated by China to each province, and the inability to distribute nearly 50% of the medications produced on the island in recent months.
In his post on X, Rodríguez stated that "the U.S. oil blockade directly impacts the supply of food and medicine in Cuba" and that "the entire population is punished, without exception, with the declared intention of provoking a social outbreak."
Regarding the rice, the chancellor explained that the 15,000 tons donated by the Party, the Government, and the people of China "could not be transported immediately to each province due to disruptions related to freight transportation."
Regarding medications, he noted that "the lack of fuel prevents almost 50% of the medications produced in Cuba in recent months from being distributed throughout the country."
Rodríguez concluded his message with a categorical statement: "The energy blockade is real. Anyone who says otherwise is lying."
The rice donation referred to by the chancellor is part of a larger commitment: China donated a total of 60,000 tons of rice to Cuba in 2026, distributed in four shipments of 15,000 tons each.
The first shipment, consisting of 15,600 tons, arrived at the Port of Havana on March 20 aboard the ship Loyalty Hong.
The distribution was gradual and uneven among the provinces: Mayabeque began receiving four pounds per consumer starting April 4; Camagüey, five pounds from April 15; Las Tunas and other provinces from April 25. A second donation of 15,000 tons was announced on May 23.
The energy crisis underlying both problems is structural. Cuba needs between 90,000 and 110,000 barrels of oil daily, but it only produces about 40,000 internally.
In several instances in 2026, the country received only one of the eight fuel ships it needs each month, which triggered daily blackouts of more than twenty hours in March and May, impacting over 50% of the country.
In the pharmaceutical sector, BioCubaFarma and the Ministry of Public Health acknowledged in March that Cuba must produce 62% of the 403 products in the national essential drug list internally, and that the lack of a single component can halt the production of a medication. The struggle to find medications in Cuba has become a constant challenge for millions of families.
The Trump administration signed an executive order on January 29 that imposed secondary restrictions on countries exporting oil to Cuba, further exacerbating the supply issue.
The U.S. has historically argued that the embargo includes exceptions for medical and humanitarian products and cited nearly 900 million dollars in approved medical exports to Cuba just in 2023.
The that the humanitarian crisis in Cuba is worsening due to a lack of electricity, fuel, and medicines, and that the fuel shortage is even limiting the operation of ambulances. The organization has mobilized over 32 million dollars in aid and transported 48 containers of supplies to provinces in eastern Cuba.
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