Cuba is rapidly running out of fuel. For nearly three months, the United States has blocked significant oil shipments from reaching the island, plunging its already struggling economy into a state of crisis. We asked Cubans how the fuel shortage has changed their lives.
19 Cubans on what it’s like to live without fuel
In some parts Life in Cuba simply came to a standstill.
The first effective blockade since the Cuban Missile Crisis is pushing the Caribbean country to a humanitarian breaking point. As a result, Cubans have difficulty navigating the most basic aspects of daily life, from commuting to work to medical care.
Even the arrival of Russian oil tankers this week, the first allowed by the United States since the blockade began, will buy the island just weeks before its fuel reserves run out, analysts say.
We wanted to know how these changes affected life in Cuba. In February we asked people across the island to let us know.
I only go to places close by that I can walk to.
Leah Rodriguez, 23 communications expert
We live in a country where it is always Sunday. When you go out into the street, almost everything is closed.
Arsenio Garcia, 69 years old TV producer
If you don’t have access to hard currency, such as dollars or euros, you’re in trouble.
Stock market investor, 56 years old
As a doctor, my salary is not enough to cover all my basic living expenses.
Medical resident, 24 years old
Dozens of people responded in Spanish, sharing their struggles as well as their fears and hopes for themselves and their country. It reached readers of all ages, including students as young as 19 and a few retirees who had to work odd jobs to supplement their savings.
Some of them agreed to go on the record. Others have asked that their names or names not be used at all for fear of retaliation from the Cuban government or the United States.
They wrote primarily from Havana, the capital of Cuba, but also from Baracoa, Santiago de Cuba, Pinar del Río, and Sancti Spiritus. Many people charged their phones or sent voice notes or texts via WhatsApp when they could get a signal.
I have two jobs and an age-based pension. I survived, but I am not living a decent life.
Retired, 67 years old
Cubans learn to adapt and live with everything that comes our way, but it is very difficult.
Gustavo Torres, 25 years old art critic and historian
I hope this changes and people can get by, at least financially.
Gabriel Sanchez, 24 years old engineer
There are many things that are gradually becoming the norm, but there are also many things that are not normal at all.
Yamil Orlando, 30 visual artist
Without power, no water will flow to your home. Without fuel, farmers cannot harvest or transport their crops to cities.
Hospitals are canceling surgeries and sending patients home because doctors and nurses cannot come to work. Health care workers say worsening conditions are causing preventable deaths.
If rotting garbage is not incinerated, it piles up on street corners. Power outages have become routine across the country. Tourism, which had long played a vital role in Cuba’s economy, has plummeted.
We poor people have to exchange food among ourselves. Some small business owners now even accept payments for food.
Leonardo, 19 years old student
The industry in which I work, tourism, has come to a standstill, leaving me without a job.
Jose Enrique González, 29 years old tour guide
Because there is no electricity, there are no diagnostic tools, no medical transport, and no medicine.
Alfonso de Jesus, 65 years old retiree
For those who still have jobs, commuting is a huge challenge. Many private vehicles are parked without fuel. Some bus routes have been shut down entirely, leaving Cubans to become long-distance hikers, cyclists and hopeful hitchhikers.
People have to get around on electric tricycles, bicycles or on foot because taxi fares are too expensive.
Ivan Garcia, 60 years old reporter
I had to leave the theater where I worked because I couldn’t afford transportation because prices were soaring out of control.
Victor Manuel, 27 years old musician
I walk everywhere. On the rare occasions when I need transportation, I hitchhike and wait for someone to pick me up.
Claudia Terry, 22 Graduated in Art History
As fuel shortages cripple even the most basic services, people are seeking creative, desperate and often illegal solutions to survive. Skipping a meal or two has become the new normal for people in certain parts of the island.
My wife didn’t eat anything for several days to give our son something to eat.
Stock market investor, 56 years old
The only way to get gasoline or diesel is through the black market.
University professor, 26 years old
Filter the frying oil that you thoughtlessly threw away in the past and reuse it several times by filtering it through a fine cloth.
Giraldo Benítez, 65 years old retired engineer
Some people said they relied on tenuous support networks, including family sending money or medicine from overseas, black market contacts and friends who didn’t have blackouts on the streets.
They all said they use their imagination to expand limited resources and embody “creative resilience.” The term was coined for the survival tactics used by the Cuban government to withstand the US embargo and oil blockade.
But for many on the island, the phrase feels less like a revolutionary virtue and more like romanticizing a lifestyle they never chose.
That might mean stealing a liter of oil, a pack of paper or a pack of light bulbs from work and selling them on the black market.
Ivan Garcia, 60 years old reporter
As buildings collapse every day, leaders and their families become richer. They ask us to be resilient without any plan for improvement, but they themselves offer no resistance.
28 year old woman
The Cuban government has acknowledged it is in talks with the Trump administration about a possible deal to end the oil blockade, but Cuban officials have repeatedly denied that regime change is on the table.
U.S. officials are calling for Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to resign. But several readers said they had little hope their situation would change quickly.
Cuba’s future is unimaginable. If we continue like this, it will be like being in front of a corpse.
Yamil Orlando, 30 visual artist
The guilt of being Cuban, do you know what that feels like? To feel guilty for being born here? I want to get away, I want to see the world, I want to know more than the four walls of my home.
Victor Manuel, 27 years old musician
I am one of the few young people who don’t want to leave the country, but I see how my aspirations are diminishing.
Claudia Terry, 22 Graduated in Art History
My main wish is to find work again.
Francisco Delgado, 60 years old Former tourism company employee
Some people have expressed deep frustration with the Cuban Revolution, which they see as a failed project that has stripped them of many basic rights. Others have criticized the trade embargo and oil blockade imposed by the U.S. government for having an overwhelming effect on ordinary Cubans and leaving the country’s elite unaffected.
One person described feeling trapped by the clash of egos between two governments that had little interest in the lives of the island’s residents.
Cuba is a failure and a disgrace to the country, having maintained a dictatorship for 67 years. I am deeply concerned that we are constantly facing new crises and that the government is not interested in solving anything.
28 year old woman
Unfortunately, why doesn’t the United States leave Cuba alone? Leave it as is. Remove all sanctions. Leave Cuba alone.
Roberto Blanco, 82 years old retiree
Since the fuel restrictions were announced, we Cubans have added more uncertainty to the fate of our lives.
Leah Rodriguez, 23 years old; communications expert
Even as the country’s pulse slows, life in Cuba goes on.
There is still music playing in some streets. People said they were saving up for transport or beer ahead of birthday parties.
Movie theaters have attempted to show shows in the early afternoon if the power grid is working. Some people still make an effort to attend book club meetings. When the power goes out, anxious neighbors take plastic chairs outside to chat and breathe a little easier.
Whenever I felt too overwhelmed, sitting on the breakwater as the sun set and just before dark was my escape.
Leah Rodriguez, 23 communications expert
To help me relax and relieve stress, I planted a Boldo plant. Put a couple of leaves in a small cup and you have a wonderful tea.
Giraldo Benítez, 65 years old retired engineer
When something good happens, we try to look on the bright side of it. We laugh a little and keep moving forward.
Gustavo Torres, 25 years old art critic and historian
