An American traveler who traversed Cuba from west to east in August documented an island marked by endless blackouts, fuel shortages, paralyzed transport, empty pharmacies, and a noticeable absence of tourists. His impression at the end of the journey was striking: "We could be very close to the end."
Tommy, creator of the popular channel YouTube Sabbatical, traveled with his companion Simona from Santa Clara to Camagüey, passing through small towns in the interior of the country.
"Cuba is going through its biggest crisis since the communist revolution. There is almost no fuel. Most of the time, there is no electricity," he summarized in the video published on August 19.
One of the images that impacted him the most was that of the blackouts. He explained that in some towns, electricity barely lasted two hours a day, while at night Camagüey was practically in the dark, except for a few establishments with generators.
Even the restaurant where they tried to have dinner stopped serving food to save fuel.
The deterioration was also evident in transportation. Interprovincial trains currently run once every 16 days, a reduction that highlights the deep crisis in the sector.
During the tour, Tommy also showed long lines in front of banks, pharmacies that were nearly empty, and private stores with products at prices inaccessible to most Cubans.
In a private supermarket in Camagüey called Prague International, prices were set in US dollars: a bag of sugar cost 310 dollars. The products, though labeled as European, mostly came from Russia or China.
The pharmacies, on the other hand, had empty shelves. "In the past, Cuba was famous for its doctors. Now, if you get hurt, you're in trouble. There are no supplies. Hospitals are closing. Pharmacies are a joke," said Tommy.
International tourism, one of the few sources of foreign currency remaining for the regime, plummeted by 60.7% in the first half of 2026, with only 387,591 visitors.
Tommy experienced it firsthand: "What a feeling to be literally the only tourist in this whole city, in this entire region. I think the last time it happened to me was in Congo."
Their departure from the country was not without difficulties. Tommy and Simona found a weekly flight from Camagüey to Cancun, but the taxi that was taking them to the airport broke down. They arrived late, although a delay in the flight itself allowed them to board after all.
At the airport, Tommy explained that he had wanted to return to Cuba because he feared it might be his last chance to experience the island as he remembered it.
"The Cuba of the fifty's Chevrolets, the one with ration books. Communist Cuba," he listed.
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