Cuba, an island nation that depends heavily on external support for energy, is currently facing an acute energy crisis, with prolonged nationwide blackouts, fuel shortages, and disruptions to daily life, leaving even hospitals struggling to carry out surgeries and pump water.

The situation has worsened after Venezuelan oil supplies, long a source of subsidised fuel for Cuba, were disrupted following the January 3, 2026, US intervention in Venezuela that led to the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro and the restructuring of the country’s oil sector. This, along with longstanding US sanctions and Cuba’s economic challenges, has restricted Cuba’s ability to secure alternative supplies and has pushed an already fragile economy into crisis. The situation has become further complicated by the impact of repeated natural disasters, which place significant stress on the island’s already fragile power grid, which lacks the resilience to recover quickly from such disruptions.

This is not the first time Cuba has faced such a situation. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba lost its main source of subsidised oil and went through a severe economic crisis known as the “Special Period.” However, in the 2000s, Venezuela replaced the Soviet Union as Cuba’s key energy partner, helping stabilise the situation. Nonetheless, owing to Venezuela’s political and economic crisis since 2014, including plummeting oil production and hyperinflation, this agreement was disrupted, leaving Cuba’s energy sector vulnerable. Without........

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