A Chinese media outlet documented the extent of the economic collapse on the island, noting that rationed food is no longer sufficient for all citizens and that the population is turning to coal and firewood for cooking.
The report published on the Chinese portal Ifeng features statements from Alejandro Gómez, deputy director of Prensa Latina in Havana, regarding the economic and energy crisis that Cuba is experiencing, which he attributes to the U.S. embargo.
The text was published after the UN's annual resolution against the U.S. embargo received only 130 votes in favor, the worst result since Cuba introduced the initiative in 1992, with 35 fewer supports compared to 2025 and the opposing votes more than doubled.
Gómez acknowledges to the Chinese press that the rationing booklet, created in 1962 to cover a month's worth of basic products, now only lasts for 15 days. The issue is not just the quantity: "Nowadays, these foods can hardly reach community food stores," the Cuban official admitted.
The return to fuels from the last century is another point that the official acknowledges in the interview. Many households that once cooked with gas cylinders or street gas are now doing so with coal and firewood, a regression that Miguel Díaz-Canel himself described in March as the population's «creative resistance».
In terms of energy, Gómez confirmed that the National Electric System has experienced seven total collapses this year, with nearly five days accumulated without electricity across the country.
"At this moment, there is also a blackout here. Fortunately, thanks to the solar panels donated by China, I can do this interview with electricity today," he said at the beginning of the conversation.
The official also reported on infant mortality. He stated that the rate increased from less than four to more than nine per thousand live births last year, attributing the decline to the U.S. embargo on the island.
The figure matches the official data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI). The rate closed at 9.9 per thousand live births in 2025, compared to 7.1 in 2024 and 3.9 in 2018, representing an approximate increase of 154% compared to 2018.
Gómez acknowledged that the 176 economic measures approved in June are not felt on the streets: "Prices continue to rise, blackouts persist, water issues remain, and the cost of living keeps increasing."
Regarding China, this interview portrays the Asian giant as a supportive donor, but the numbers show that it is also a commercial partner of the regime.
Chinese solar panel exports to Cuba increased from around five million dollars in 2023 to 117 million in 2025, according to customs data collected by Ember.
The analyst Dave Jones estimates that solar energy now accounts for nearly 10% of Cuba's electricity generation. He warns that Cuba "might be in the midst of one of the fastest solar revolutions in the world", but this expansion deepens the island's technological dependence on the Beijing government, in a pattern similar to what it had with Moscow and Caracas.
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