Cuba says it has run out of fuel, blames U.S. embargo

alterom

It's not like one needs to say blames here, as if it's just an accusation and there could be another cause for that. We also have no reason to doubt that Cuba has run out of fuel as a result of an embargo on fuel when the officials say so. It's not a surprise; it was the expected outcome and the entire point of the embargo. A better title would be: "Cuba jas run out of fuel due to the US embargo".

mlmonkey

I don't really understand the point of the embargo. I am an American. Picking on a tiny country like Cuba serves no purpose. The elites in Cuba are not going to suffer; the normal people will. Instead of acting like a bully, I wish our government would be more magnanimous and just drop the embargo.

WaxProlix

What we're doing to the Cuban people with this blockade is criminal. I don't expect to see justice in my lifetime. What a miserable state of affairs.

louwrentius

The humanitarian impact of this embargo is just one of the many stains on the USA that can never be removed.

RiverCrochet

Cuba went through something similar in 1991: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Period

wiradikusuma

From the perspective of a layman, isn't this bullying? Don't we suppose to have the UN where nations.. unite?

asHqar

The US starves anyone it does not like from natural resources and subsequently makes them buy US natural resources. It has done this to the EU, now it is trying to do it to China and Cuba. This way they can control everyone.

ricardobeat

Isn’t Cuba prime estate for solar, maybe wind too? A little gift from China could go a long way.

xorgun

I have no opinions on this matter, but what I do know is that most of the comments here deeply misunderstand the situation

vrganj

What the US is doing to Cuba and has been doing to it for the past 70 years is a horrible crime. What a lack of confidence in their own system to not allow fair competition between Cuban socialism and American capitalism. It feels similar to Putin invading Ukraine because he didn't like the example of an EU-aligned country prospering next door and the populace starting to ask difficult questions.

some_random

It's so funny how much anti-americans cry about the US refusing to sell things to an adversary.

eschulz

Cuba has received shipments of oil and humanitarian goods from Mexico and Russia just this year, and I don't believe that the US has done anything to stop that (although the US has heavily sanctioned Russia in general for years now). However, those good received this year appear to have been free of charge. I'm wondering if the US is solely to blame for Cuba being completely unable to pay for the oil it needs. Obviously the US embargo on Cuba is devastating for its economy, but other states impacted by US sanctions in a similar manner seem to get by with essential good like food, oil, and medicine. Cuba is in a poor economic spot, but the US does not appear at all to be using its military to prevent them from trade with other nations.

daedrdev

The US has had an embargo on Cuba for a long time that exempted Food and Medicine, while other countries freely traded with Cuba. However, under the Trump admin it has turned into a de-facto blockade of all fuel, which really isn't the embargo, it's a new blockade by the US against Cuba. So I don't get why we blame it on the embargo when the current problems are clearly caused by the blockade. Cuba's previous economic problems are driven by a complete lack of economic reforms, as unnamed Chinese officials said in this FT article two years ago: https://www.ft.com/content/9ca0a495-d5d9-4cc5-acf5-43f42a912... "China publicly supports Cuba’s right to choose its own path to economic development “in line with its national conditions”, but privately Chinese officials have long urged the Cuban leadership to shift from its vertically planned economy to something closer to the Chinese model, according to economists and diplomats briefed on the situation. Chinese officials have been perplexed and frustrated at the Cuban leadership’s unwillingness to decisively implement a market-oriented reform programme despite the glaring dysfunction of the status quo, the people said." I agree what the US is doing is horrible, but Cuba is not blameless on their overall situation

EcommerceFlow

The current advancement of technology and warfare has opened up fascinating opportunities for powerful nations (USA). For example, given the extremely sophisticated targeting capacities of Palantir, how out of realm would taking out the entire Castro family be? I'm not talking about the morality, but simply the military options now available to the President.

WarmWash

There is a point where you are so weak, and your opponent is strong, that the best outcome for everyone on the whole is for you to just capitulate. Surrender. I don't know if there is something I am missing, but to me, the "bad guy" in a situation like this is the one holding onto power at everyone else's (extreme) expense, throwing their own team into the fire to keep their power in place as long as possible.

legitster

The embargo on Cuba is unbelievably silly in 2026: - The Cold War is over and Cuba poses no security risk - Florida is no longer a swing state and appeasing Cuban Americans is not a worthwhile political move - We are willing to ally with much more oppressive regimes for less geopolitical benefits - Cuba was in the process of liberalizing and developing an independent middle class for the first time in half a century before Trump's last crackdown. The jury is out on whether the "regime change" (or more like, junior dictator promotion) in Venezuela was worthwhile. It's certainly looking like a quagmire in Iran. By hardballing GAESA, we're probably shooting ourselves in the foot by making the Cuban population more resentful of the US. "Regime change" is a less likely positive outcome than it was 8 years ago. But we have plenty of models of military dictatorships slowly opening up to becoming stable economies through trade and access. More or less that's what happened with Vietnam, to name one.

davidfekke

Here are some facts about Cuba and oil. The Cuban government was getting free oil from Venezuella. That ended on Jan. 3rd. Cuba was taking that oil, and reselling most of it on the open oil market. Cuba also has their own oil wells, so they can produce oil if they need it. Cuba was also having power outages prior to Jan 3rd. Cuba also used to have the best economony in the Caribbean prior to 1959 when the Castro's took over. They switched from a free market ecomony to a state run socialist economy.

rastrojero2000

The chinesse should just supply them with a shitload of wind turbines and solar panels. Syphillitic Mumm-ra is deathly afraid of those so he's likely to leave them alone.