Cuba Enters Severe Oil Crisis

By Evan McFarland

In recent years, Cuba has become incredibly reliant on Venezuelan oil, with 61% of its yearly oil imports (approximately 13.7 million barrels per year) coming from Venezuela. However, after the US gained control of the Venezuelan oil industry in Jan. 2026, these oil sales have been completely suspended, which has sent Cuba into an economic crisis.

All areas of the Cuban economy have been devastated by the shortage. Tourism, Cuba’s most integral industry, is essentially being shut down because Cuba is running out of jet fuel, meaning planes aren’t able to refuel in Cuba and return to their place of origin. Airlines have cancelled most, if not all, of their flights to Cuba, preventing tourists from reaching the country. Economic production has been completely paralyzed. Factories don’t have enough electricity to produce anywhere near an adequate amount of goods. Even with electricity, a lot of their workers would still be unable to transit to work - limited oil supply means limited gas for taxis and buses. What’s left of Cuban agriculture, following decades of reduced investment in farming capital due to the U.S. embargo and Cuba’s central planning, and an absolutely devastating hurricane this past year, doesn’t have the gas to power necessary equipment (e.g tractors). 

This crisis has affected almost every aspect of everyday life in Cuba. As previously stated, a lot of Cubans are struggling to get to work, and many have lost their job. Due to the struggles of the agricultural industry, the price of food has reached exorbitant levels, rendering most quality food completely out of reach. Even then, cooking has proven difficult - electricity is only on for a few hours a day, if at all. Scavenging for firewood to burnin an apartment building in order to properly cook food has become a daily aspect of Cuban life. Despite the resolve shown by the Cuban public, a resolution to the crisis appears distant.

Ever since the rise of Fidel Castro in 1959 and Cuba’s subsequent shift to a communist state, the US has been attempting to economically choke Cuba into abandoning communism, primarily through an embargo that bars almost all trade between the U.S. and Cuba. This suspension of oil sales is an extreme continuation of this policy. Most political analysts, however, state that it is unlikely that the Cuban government will bow to the U.S. demands, citing the U.S.’ failure to influence Iran via economic pressure, Cuba’s lack of concessions to the U.S. during previous economic crises (namely the Special Period), and profuse anti-American sentiment that still lingers in Cuba.