Overview
- Hundreds of residents in several Havana districts protested rolling outages, banging pots, lighting trash fires and chanting for the lights to be turned back on.
- Energy Minister Vicente de la O said Cuba has no diesel or heating oil left and reported neighborhoods without power for about 20 to 22 hours a day.
- The government said public services have largely stalled as fuel dried up, with shortages of food, medicine and drinking water straining daily life in the capital.
- U.S. measures imposed in January under President Donald Trump have deterred suppliers, with Venezuela and Mexico halting deliveries and only one large tanker arriving since December, a policy the UN last week labeled unlawful.
- Officials said they are open to any seller, yet higher oil and shipping costs linked to the war involving the U.S. and Israel against Iran and a shaky grid that sidelines new solar capacity make near-term relief unlikely.