Streets are darkened everywhere but Havana.
Cuba Is Struggling to Keep Lights On
Bloomberg reports Cuba Is Struggling to Keep Lights On Amid Trump’s Oil Blockade
Cuba’s blackout problem has worsened in the month since the US cut off oil shipments to the island.
Its grid was fragile even before a critical transmission line failure in early December temporarily severed the link between Havana and the Caribbean country’s primary thermoelectric power plants in Matanzas. Then the Trump administration blocked fuel shipments that supply 60% of the roughly 100,000 barrels of crude a day it needs to feed its aging power system.
Available electricity has plummeted since the start of the year. And it’s disproportionately affected rural areas and provincial hubs, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of satellite imagery. The level of light emitted at night in major eastern cities like Santiago de Cuba and Holguin has dropped as much as 50% compared to the historical average.
Streetlights and residential grids that once illuminated those areas have largely gone dark. Santiago is the island’s second-largest city, home to a once-bustling port and industrial facilities, while Holguin is another provincial capital and a major hub for tourists headed to resorts along the north coast.
The notable exception is Havana. Though the capital’s eastern suburbs of Cojimar and Alamar are significantly darker, the data show the lights have largely stayed on in the central part of the city that is home to a fifth of the communist-run island’s roughly 10 million people.But the disparity in the satellite images of Havana at night versus other cities could also reflect differences in both income and technological adaptation, according to Michael Bustamante, chair of Cuban studies at the University of Miami.
“Given the already precarious circumstances of the electric grid, many Cubans have figured out ways to import solar panels,” he said in an interview. “That’s not a necessarily cheap proposition.”
It stands to reason that Havana, the wealthiest part of the island, would see greater uptake of solar panels, Bustamante said. Battery systems that charge while the electric grid is on, to then power appliances when it’s not, are also commonly used in the capital, he added.
All of Cuba’s Oil Imports Have Halted
The last oil shipment from Mexico arrives in Havana on the Ocean Mariner tanker, on Jan. 9.
In addition to Venezuela, Mexico had been a steady supplier of oil to Cuba. It delivered a small cargo on Jan. 9, according to Kpler, a data and analytics firm. A few weeks later, Trump threatened tariffs on any nation that supplies the island with fuel, cutting off that flow as well. As a result, Havana has now gone a full month without a major fuel delivery, the data show.
Some analysts estimate Cuba has enough oil left in storage to last fewer than 20 days, but no official figures are available. Last week, the government unveiled a series of contingency measures including reducing public transportation routes, shortening the work week to four days, shutting down resorts and limiting gasoline sales to consumers who can pay in dollars.
It’s now a waiting game between Washington and Havana to see who blinks first. Trump argues the regime is so weak it will collapse on its own and is severing all sources of external support to speed the process. Díaz-Canel has indicated he’s open to negotiations with the US, but not about the country’s one-party system of government.
From rural towns to provincial capitals and Havana itself, everyday Cubans are living under increasing duress as a result. While the regime survived the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s through similarly aggressive belt-tightening and stoicism, it could still import fuel to keep the lights on.
Not being able to do so this time, Bustamante said, represents “a very significant blow that will severely strain an already severely strained electric grid.”
Assume Trump manages a regime change in Cuba. Miguel Díaz-Cane is ousted.
What changes? When?
Is the goal for Cuba to buy US oil? Venezuela oil with the US skimming off the top?
Trump should at least tell us what the precise mission is other than regime change nation building.
Collective Left should be happy. Cuba stopped to produce greenhouse gases and are on accelerated roadmap to become first ‘carbon neutral’ country on the planet.
Yes, that was sarcasm.
“Díaz-Canel has indicated he’s open to negotiations with the US, but not about the country’s one-party system of government.”
I’m sorry but to which country does this refer?
“The United States is a one-party state, but with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.”
Julius Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania
Comment section: Say it with me – the governments of Russia, Cuba, Iran and North Korea, China and others are evil and have no problems killing their own people to hang on the long dead ideals of Karl Marx and power. If anyone of these places had free and fair elections, the dictators would be out and the US would be the first one with aid. I look forward to be able to go to Cuba on vacation and invest in companies that would make the place a paradise 90 miles from the US.
So the solution is to act evil and bomb these countries to get them to the “correct” way of living? Fight evil with evil!
Doesn’t look like a win-win strategy if you can think.
The issue is you think there is a win-win strategy. This is narcassitic behavior. You put evil in a box and you don’t let it out to hurt everyone else. The same we do with felons. I hope you can agree that jails are a neseccary evil.
Ok, let us put the US in a box so that they don’t hurt everyone else.
The US doesn’t aid anyone anymore.
Exactly: We topple their governments and then …”Hey Ukraine – why don’t you attack those Russians in the Donbas? We’ll ‘help you’ … to the last Ukrainian”. (to “weaken Russia” as Lloyd Austin said).
Currently, we’re “helping” Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Thailand… We’re poised to help the shit out of Iran – a country that poses us no risk and has done nothing to us.
Cubans are used to dealing with shortages.
Hoping other countries will help them out, during this time that they’re being bullied by the US.
Can the UN intercede?
Cuba is a member of the UN.
Donalds real estate friends have supposedly already got their blueprints ready to create another Vegas . Giant Casino resorts just a hop from Florida.
this is appalling. why are we doing this? can anyone articulate something that is actually making lives of Americans better concretely? Because if not we’re just cruelly inflicting suffering on people for no reason.
Have you never played the board game, RISK?
The object is to take over the whole world, and the winning play is to first take Alaska, Venezuela, and Greenland.
Where do you think the POTUS learned about geo-politics?
Haven’t the Americans been trying to starve the Cubans to death for decades?
Sanctions are one thing. A blockade is on a whole ‘nother level.
What changes when democrats take over is they open the floodgates to more Cuban, Venezuelan, well heck all of Latin America refugees/immigrants to make up for the misery inflicted on these nations under Trump. Dems will be happy to flood the zone.
And there will be nothing MAGA can do about it, absolutely nothing.
unfortunately you are right, but this is Trump’s fault for his no-holds-barrred approach. And it’s the fault of our polarized citizenry which ping-pong’s between one extreme and another
Placeing blame is a fun game. Fixing a problem by creating two new problems doesn’t work either. The best fix is to impeach Trump and force all the Dems in the Senate to vote Guilty.
I remember the misery in the rich Democrat enclave of Martha’s Vinyard, when Desantis sent just 65 illegal aliens there. Martha’s Vineyard couldn’t move fast enough to get rid of them. Maybe next time Martha’s Vineyard will get flooded with them and there will be nothing MV can do about it.
Maybe…Texas and Florida can waste taxpayers money on the movement of people to Martha’s Vineyard then they spend their own taxpayer money to move them then taxpayers spend more money on politician fools that won’t do anything to fix the problem.
Keep going in circles until you run out of gas (taxpayer money).
Won’t bother me one bit, I’ve got an exit strategy.
Emergency Emergency everyone get off of the streets ASAP and Y? Los Cubanos are coming! Los Cubanos are coming! They are going to put fluoride in our water and mess with our precious bodily fluids! The regime ruining the US AKA our country is totally NUTS!
Los Cubanos are not coming! However if their economy collapses you can bet that their will be thousands or more heading this way! So if we had a competent government we would basically stay neutral life the naval blockade and fix problems here at home!
Best fire up the CRM 114 Discriminator out of an abundance of caution
Another war by executive order.
Thousands must die to protect pedophiles.
The pederast class is better than us, that’s what I learned in Civics Class today
I hate this side of America more than anything: KILLING and/or Starving Regular People.
I agree!
It’s like finding out your dad is a mafia boss.
History has shown that ‘the other side’ would do it to you if they could.
There are no truly pacifist nations / peoples. Any that existed were long ago wiped out.
Looks to me like the plan is to turn Cuba into another Gaza.
I remember speeches from former U.S. presidents calling other countries “evil empires”.
Nope. The plan is to turn it into another state. The 51st state.
Like Puerto Rico?
40% of Americans think you’re dumb for calling PR part of the USA, a sad indictment of the American intellect
Lile Israel?
How can Cuba buy US oil when it is sanctioned and cannot transact ?
No precise goals. Just wanton bellicosity.
As long as those losers get what they deserve for being losers.
Sanctions are siege warfare, illegal under international law.
By the way, the UN Charter has been ratified by the US Senate, so also illegal under US law.
Trump wants to crush them, like the Union Army that was redeployed from pillaging and raping the South to wiping out the Buffalo and the Indians in the West. Like Israel is wiping out the Palestinians who own the land under Israel’s feet. Destroy the village to save it. Like George Washington decided to interfere in Haïti because a successful slave revolt would set a bad example for the slaves at home. Hell, Trump/Rubio are even explicitly trying to get the Europeans on board to return to the halcyon days of colonialism and global rule.
So what does China supply to Taiwan that they can’t do without?
China is Taiwan’s largest trading partner.
The goal in Cuba is the same as it’s been since 1960. Return all the expropriated land and businesses to their pre-revolution US ownership. Never mind that 80% or more of original owners have died or that generations of people have lived there since then, it must be returned to pre-revolution US ownership.
So regimes will continue to be changed in Cuba until one agrees to that.
Note there is a major case before the supreme court regarding those rights at this very moment. It’s going to be watched VERY closely.
Hyman Roth
In his bluster, the POTUS might as well use the same line as he used on Venezuela: they are our plantations on our land.
I have (Canadian) family there and although his neighbourhood has access to large solar arrays, he is indignant.
We also have Canadian family there, via the Marriage of my Mom to a Canadian guy way back.
Will the Supreme Court decide that all Cuban land must be given back to the descendants of the aboriginal people who lived there for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived and enslaved them?
Are they white?
Maybe if they could find any.
Would need to be pure blood (no mix from Europeans) and be able to trace a line back to Pre-Colombian times.
How many do you think would qualify?
Then we can give Europe back to the Neanderthals.
>> The goal in Cuba is the same as it’s been since
>> 1960.
…to enrich the oligarchy.
>> Return all the expropriated land and
>> businesses to their pre-revolution US ownership.
That’s the promise to get some people on board.
The lawyers will take a nice big slice to hande claims.
Peanuts for peons, big win for oligarchs.
That court has no jurisdiction outside of the US.
One can approach facets of this from several directions. From the Peak Oil James Kunstler direction, Cuba is experiencing now what will happen to all of us when oil runs out. The Communist Party announces itself the avant-garde of humanity. So watch closely how Cuba copes with the life of the future.
Even the Communist Party could cause this. This is totally on the head of the Beltway Party.
This is an act of war. There are real people living there and we are creating North Korea.
It would be great if they had a market and human rights friendly government. But this is a cruel abuse of our power. If we are going to these lengths to enact regime change, then there should be a formal declaration of war. (Obviously tilting at windmills here since we clearly don’t follow that part of constitution anymore and haven’t since well before the orange man).
They have a “human rights friendly government”. They were run like a plantation before. For 7 decades since then, they are under siege from an empire that is NOT.
The commercial blockade by the US against Japan, including oil, was what led Japan to declare war on the US and to attack Perl Harbor.
If Trump can decide that Cuba shouldn’t receive oil, is it okay for China to decide that the United States shouldn’t receive semiconductors?
There WILL be retribution for American Actions. Don’t you all think it is a matter of time? Can you imagine the punishment of US, the People, for what the TrumpSter has wrought?
By the time the punishment arrives the police state will be fully in place.
Will they punish us more or less than the Epstein class does already?
We’re unhealthy, stupid, stressed, and strung out on drugs.
To be fair there is a lot of judgement and punishment that could be meted out for the actions of many of Trump’s predecessors.
[checking the consolidated list of Epstein clients] …Yep.
Retribution is one thing. I think the time is fast approaching where other major powers will assess that the US is too dangerous to allow it to continue along its path. The Pentagon, CIA and State Department headquarters are all closely located to each other. Whether it means floating a big nuke up the Potomac or delivering tactical nukes to each location, I expect it to happen. The Utah Data Center is another prime target, but that’s harder to hit anonymously.
I don’t think it will take a nuke, China just needs to cut the US off of rare earths and microchips (Taiwan) and the US becomes obsolete, no more drones, jet fighters, missiles.
The real question is why doesn’t China pull the plug already.
Their finger is on the button. Last I heard was that until they can build enough nucular aircraft carriers to face off with the US. Then they will push it down.