A video posted on Facebook by Bryan Anniel Prado Diaz shows a Cuban pouring what he claims is oil into a car's tank.
The recording accumulated over one million views, becoming a new viral testament to the energy crisis that the Island is experiencing.
"We're pouring oil into the car here, we're going to add a little bit of oil to bring the car back to life," says the author at the beginning of the video.
His companion jokes that the vehicle is a gasoline Aleko (although a gasoline engine cannot function with oil) and then shows a bottle with a label for soybean oil. "See, it's oil? So they won't tell me later that it's re-packaged gasoline," he emphasizes.
It is important to clarify this without beating around the bush: a gasoline engine cannot run on vegetable oil. It's not a matter of performance or that it runs "worse": it simply won't start. Gasoline is volatile and ignites with the spark from the spark plug, while soybean oil neither vaporizes nor ignites with a spark. Additionally, its density clogs injectors and fuel system lines. In the best-case scenario, the engine would not respond; in the worst-case scenario, it would become damaged.
This leaves only two possibilities. The first is that we are faced with a deception: that the oil dispenser is merely a prop and what they are actually pouring into the tank is repackaged gasoline, exactly what the protagonist himself swears he is not doing. The second is that this Aleko is not gasoline, but diesel, the only engines capable of digesting vegetable oil —with modifications— without breaking down immediately.
And here a technical note is relevant, because the second hypothesis is not entirely far-fetched. The Moskvitch 2141, the Aleko, did have a factory diesel version, equipped with a 1.8-liter Ford engine, but it was an extremely rare series almost entirely intended for export to Germany. To this, we add that in Cuba, home modifications are common, using engines transplanted from various sources.
Jokes aside, the truth is that the desperate use of vegetable oil as a substitute for fuel is a confirmed practice in Cuba.
But many criticize that the "new demand" from drivers for a product that is a basic food necessity has also driven up its price.
This was confirmed by internet users in Prado Diaz's post.
"For that reason, the oil is gaining more value," said one.
"Sure, not long ago it was at 900, now it's at 2,000," added another.
"Those who add oil should all be held accountable so they can see the consequences, as this has led to a rise in oil prices. Of course, they profit from it in ticket sales, but the majority of people are suffering," pointed out a third party.
"Now the oil is really going to reach 4,000 pesos, and what should those who want it for cooking do?" questioned another user.
Vegetable oil is not a suitable substitute for diesel. Its high viscosity leads to poorer fuel atomization, incomplete combustion, accumulation of carbon deposits in the injectors, and accelerated engine wear, which in the long run further exacerbates the already precarious state of the Cuban vehicle fleet.
This video is part of a series of similar testimonies that have circulated in recent months.
On April 9, a truck on the Camagüey-Havana route used 30 containers of cooking oil mixed with oil to complete the journey.
At the end of May, Cubans filled a bus tank with sunflower oil due to the inability to obtain diesel.
The underlying crisis is structural and has direct responsibilities.
Since December 2025, Cuba stopped receiving imported oil from Venezuela and Mexico, accumulating consecutive months without external supplies. The reserves of 100,000 tons of Russian oil that arrived in March 2026 were quickly depleted.
The regime itself admitted the disaster: the Minister of Energy recognized that the country was "out of fuel", and Miguel Díaz-Canel admitted in April that "there is fuel, almost none."
Cuba has experienced seven total collapses of the National Electric Power System in 18 months, including a nationwide blackout on March 16th, and there have been reports of wait times of over 15 hours to refuel at gas stations.
A Cuban commentator on social media bitterly summarized the looming situation: “Soon oil is going to cost 10,000 pesos, just wait until it runs out.”
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