The Cuban comedian Loky Kubah became a viral phenomenon by depicting with dark humor something that thousands of Cubans experience daily: the price of oil rises while the buyer struggles to gather money.
The sketch, which has exceeded 39 thousand reactions, depicts a customer who asks about the oil in a small business and is told it costs 2,500 pesos. He goes out to get the money and upon returning, the price has already risen to 3,000. When he returns five minutes later, the seller informs him: "It just went up to 3,500."
The reaction in the comments was unanimous. Cubans did not see it as a joke but as a reflection of their reality.
"It may sound funny, but it's the reality; the abuse is too much," wrote a user. Another summed up the dynamic accurately: "Now it has a price, and when you turn around, it's already different."
A third was more ironic: "And so it increases even during morning and evening hours, depending on your stature and appearance."
Some comments reflect the magnitude of the financial blow. "It's a disrespect. My checkbook has 3,000. How am I supposed to buy anything else?" asked a user.
Another one reported from the Havana neighborhood of Alamar: "There are none, and today a small business sold 3 liters for 9,500. This is horrifying."
A commentator listed the cost of other basic products: "oil 3,000, charcoal 2,500, rice 750 per pound, bread 150, sugar 450 per pound."
Someone else raised the question that no one in the regime answers: "What does the Ministry of Finance and Prices do? Because they're not solving this."
Oil in Cuba: a basic product out of reach
Vegetable oil—mainly sunflower and soybean—is an essential ingredient in Cuban cuisine, used daily for frying, sautéing, and cooking. For decades, it was distributed at subsidized prices through the ration book, but that system has now vanished.
The Minister of Food Industry, Alberto López Díaz, publicly admitted on June 6, 2026: "This year we have not been able to provide oil," also acknowledging that chicken and yogurt were not delivered through the regulated basket.
The price increase has been staggering: in April 2026, the liter was around 1,500 pesos; in June it ranged from 1,800 to 2,000; in July it reached 2,500 pesos in Havana and exceeded 3,000 in several provinces.
In Sancti Spíritus, the price of a liter rose from 2,000 to 3,000 pesos in less than 24 hours, an increase of 50%.
The regulatory trigger was the Resolution 150/2026 of the Ministry of Finance and Prices, published on June 20, 2026, which lifted the price ceilings for imported cooking oils, repealing the previous limit of 990 pesos per liter.
The impact on salaries is devastating
In July, the Cuban government set the minimum wage at 3,210 pesos per month, which is equivalent to less than 10 dollars a month at the informal exchange rate.
A bottle of oil can cost between 78% and over 100% of that monthly income. Economic estimates suggest that an individual needs about 96,000 pesos per month to cover their basic needs in Cuba, of which over 70,000 would go solely toward food.
The oil crisis has another dimension that may seem unusual. In the face of fuel shortages, some drivers in Cuba mix sunflower oil with diesel to run tractors and classic cars, further straining the supply available for human consumption.
"The price of oil rises every day just like the dollar and the euro," a Cuban woman summarized in the comments on the video. "How long is this price race going to last?" asked another.
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