Overview
- Cuba announced a four-day workweek for state entities, steep cuts to bus, rail and ferry services, fuel-sale restrictions, shorter school days and limited university attendance, with some tourist facilities closed as airports stay open.
- Officials said tourism offerings will be concentrated in the highest-demand destinations, with some hotels on the Los Cayos already consolidating guests into fewer properties.
- President Miguel Díaz-Canel reiterated readiness for dialogue with the United States only without pressure or preconditions, as Havana acknowledged contacts but no formal talks, and the White House said Cuba is near collapse.
- Washington pledged an additional $6 million in humanitarian aid routed via the Catholic Church, bringing recent U.S. assistance to $9 million, a move Cuban officials criticized as hypocritical given ongoing energy pressure.
- The measures follow a U.S.-enforced halt to Venezuelan oil shipments and tariff threats that led Mexico to curb deliveries, driving repeated nationwide blackouts during a cold snap as Havana also accelerates solar deployments, including 20,000 planned systems for essential sites.