Guo Songmin: It Has Nothing to Do with Cuba

Socialism in Cuba continues to enjoy firm support from the overwhelming majority of the Cuban people. Earlier this year, over six million Cubans—81% of the population aged 16 and above—explicitly expressed their support for independence, socialism, and the revolutionary government through the "Sign for the Homeland" campaign. The International Relations Committee of Cuba’s National Assembly likewise affirmed that this is an "indisputable decision"—to continue building a socialist society striving for the greatest possible social justice. This steadfast commitment is, in Washington’s eyes, unforgivable and intolerable. 02 What the United States has done to Cuba is pure, shameless evil. This evil is not motivated by self-defense, nor does it stem from any substantive threat—not even justified by a pretext like "9/11." U.S. actions against Cuba—and Venezuela—resemble those of a thug in a village who burns his neighbor’s house merely for amusement. Faced with this situation, the international community has not remained silent. On October 29, 2025, the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted, for the 33rd consecutive year, a resolution by overwhelming majority calling on the United States to end its embargo against Cuba. Yet, like all thugs, the United States ignores appeals to goodness and justice, acting solely according to its own will. The Trump administration reissued Presidential Memorandum No. 5 on June 30, 2025, approving a policy of "maximum economic pressure" as a "tool for systemic change in Cuba." In May 2026, Trump signed an executive order imposing secondary sanctions on foreign companies doing business with Cuba—prompting numerous European enterprises to withdraw from the Cuban market. The U.S. bans any vessel engaged in trade with Cuba from docking at American ports; prohibits vessels that have unloaded cargo in Cuba from entering U.S. waters for six months; and forbids insurers from providing coverage for oil tankers transporting fuel to Cuba. Even more devastating: the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added fuel supply to its strictly controlled list—any company worldwide selling crude oil or refined petroleum products to Cuba faces secondary sanctions: exclusion from the U.S. financial system, freezing of assets in the United States, and even criminal prosecution of corporate executives. This is the truth behind Cuba’s fuel shortage. It is not that Cuba cannot afford fuel—it is that the United States, through extraterritorial jurisdiction, has severed virtually all major tanker operators, insurers, and banks around the world from conducting any business with Cuba. The United States is no longer satisfied with economic blockade—just as a thug finds burning houses insufficiently thrilling, and only killing provides real excitement. The United States has already begun deploying military force against Cuba. A carrier strike group centered on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS *Nimitz* forms the core of this deployment. This carrier strike group entered the Caribbean Sea in May 2026, its embarked air wing and accompanying missile destroyers and cruisers forming a complete maritime-air strike capability with range covering all of Cuba.

Due to the U.S. oil embargo, Cuba has run out of fuel. What impacts will this have on Cuba’s economy and people’s livelihood?

Minister Delaó candidly admitted at a press conference that Cuba’s national power grid has entered a "critical state," with the current electricity system relying solely on small quantities of domestically produced crude oil and natural gas, plus renewable energy sources. Yet Cuba’s domestic oil output is extremely limited—only about 40,000 barrels per day—while nationwide daily demand stands at 110,000–120,000 barrels, meaning self-sufficiency falls short of one-third. This heavy dependence on imports leaves Cuba virtually no room to maneuver amid this supply cutoff. Conditions in Havana are especially dire. Delaó stated that citywide blackouts have sharply worsened since last week, with many neighborhoods experiencing power outages lasting 20 to 22 hours per day—further paralyzing a capital city already crippled by shortages of food, fuel, and medicine. Protests have erupted across multiple locations in the capital, and tensions continue to escalate. A little-known fact: Over the past two years, Cuba has added 1,300 megawatts of solar power generation capacity—an expansion rate among the fastest globally. However, due to the depletion of diesel and fuel oil causing overall grid instability, most of this solar capacity remains underutilized, with both efficiency and actual power output severely diminished. II. How the Fuel Shortage Occurred: A "Precision Triple Blow" Cuba’s diesel did not vanish overnight—it was the result of a carefully orchestrated "three-stage" assault. First blow: Trump’s tariff executive order. On January 29, 2026, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order declaring a "national emergency," threatening to impose ad valorem tariffs on all goods exported to the United States by any country supplying oil to Cuba. In other words, any nation continuing to supply oil to Cuba would face punitive costs for accessing the U.S. market. Second blow: Traditional suppliers withdrew en masse. Following Trump’s executive order, Mexico and Venezuela—Cuba’s two largest historical oil suppliers—almost simultaneously halted fuel shipments to Cuba. Venezuela had supplied Cuba with roughly 53,000 barrels per day during the Chávez era, exchanging oil for Cuban medical services and training—a "petroleum-for-services" arrangement that long sustained Cuba’s energy system. But after intensified U.S. pressure on Venezuela beginning in early 2026, this lifeline was completely severed. From late 2025 into early 2026, the United States repeatedly seized Venezuelan oil tankers bound for Cuba; Cuban scholars warned at the time that this would trigger far more complex consequences. Third blow: Global oil price surge compounded the crisis. Just as Cuba scrambled to find new fuel sources, the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran, sending global oil and shipping prices soaring—further straining this chronically cash-strapped nation’s ability to import fuel. The cumulative impact of these three blows brought Cuba’s fuel imports nearly to zero. Since December 2025, only one foreign large-scale oil tanker has successfully delivered petroleum to Cuba—the Russian-flagged *Anatoly Kolodkin*, which carried approximately 100,000 tons of crude oil. Refined products derived from this shipment began hitting the market starting April 17, offering temporary relief to the island’s acute fuel shortage. Yet 100,000 tons of crude yields only enough refined fuel to meet roughly one-third of Cuba’s monthly fuel demand—utterly insufficient to reverse the broader crisis.

US Seizes $3 Million in Fuel Shipments to Cuba as Crackdown Continues

1 day ago

US authorities intercepted 90 biodiesel shipments worth nearly $3 million bound for Cuba's state-owned Enetec, continuing enforcement actions against the island's energy sector under current sanctions.

reuters

2026-10-07

US Seizes $3 Million in Fuel Shipments to Cuba as Crackdown Continues

US Seizes $3 Million in Fuel Shipments to Cuba as Crackdown Continues

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