An advertisement posted on Facebook offering special gasoline at $5.50 USD per liter from the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo sparked a wave of ironic reactions among Cubans both on the island and abroad, who quickly compared that price to what they pay for fuel in the United States.
The video accumulated more than 94,000 views and over a hundred comments in less than two days. It features an industrial container of 1,000 liters and specifies a minimum purchase of 50 liters. At that price, the equivalent of a gallon—about 3.785 liters—would cost approximately $20.80 USD, a figure that left many followers speechless.
The comparison with prices in the U.S. was immediate. "And here I am complaining about the 4 dollars per gallon in the United States," wrote a commentator amidst laughter.
Another person pointed in the same direction: "To those complaining about gasoline here in the U.S., go pay nearly $6 a liter."
A third person shared a photo of a U.S. gas station with the gallon priced at $3.759 and commented, "And I was almost crying over this the other day."
One user quickly crunched the numbers and stated bluntly, "What madness, 22 dollars a gallon." Another was more skeptical about the quality of the product: "That must have everything in it except gasoline." And there was no shortage of those warning that the worst might be yet to come: "They say it will hit 10 dollars soon."
There were also those who highlighted the underlying paradox. "I don't understand anything, and this gas if the people don't have it," wrote a commentator, summarizing the contradiction of an informal market that thrives while the majority of Cubans cannot access fuel. Another described it bluntly: "How hard, man, that's an abuse."
The announcement reflects the magnitude of the fuel crisis affecting Cuba in 2026, which Díaz-Canel himself acknowledged in April by admitting that the island lacked fuel "for almost everything."
State-run gas stations operate only in dollars, impose a 20-liter limit per vehicle, and create queues of over 15 hours, driving a large part of the population toward an informal market where prices have skyrocketed.
Since May 15, 2026, the regime liberalized and raised the official prices of gasoline at dollarized stations, setting the special gasoline B100 at $2.60 USD per liter.
Nevertheless, the black market greatly exceeds that value. In June, prices have been reported between 3,500 and 8,000 Cuban pesos (CUP) per liter, with specific cases of 16,000 CUP for just three liters.
The collapse of the Cuban peso further worsens the situation. This Thursday, the dollar was quoted at 685 CUP in the informal market, a historical record that represents a depreciation of more than 95% compared to the 42 CUP per dollar that were paid in 2020.
With that exchange rate, the average monthly salary in Cuba — which does not exceed 5,000 CUP — would barely be enough to buy less than a liter of gasoline on the black market at the price mentioned in the video: 5.50 USD.
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