Politics | Americas

Cuba Is Struggling to Keep Lights On Amid Trump’s Oil Blockade

Just weeks into a US pressure campaign to halt all oil shipments to the Caribbean island, a Bloomberg News analysis of satellite imagery finds the level of light at night has dropped as much as 50%

By Krishna Karra and Stephen Wicary

Cuba’s blackout problem has worsened in the month since the US cut off oil shipments to the island.

Its grid was fragile even before a critical transmission line failure in early December temporarily severed the link between Havana and the Caribbean country’s primary thermoelectric power plants in Matanzas. Then the Trump administration blocked fuel shipments that supply 60% of the roughly 100,000 barrels of crude a day it needs to feed its aging power system.

Available electricity has plummeted since the start of the year. And it’s disproportionately affected rural areas and provincial hubs, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of satellite imagery. The level of light emitted at night in major eastern cities like Santiago de Cuba and Holguin has dropped as much as 50% compared to the historical average.

Cuba Dims as Energy Crisis Intensifies

Change in nighttime light intensity from January vs. baseline norm

◼ Dimmer

◼ Normal

◼ No detected light

Havana

Santa

Clara

100 mi

100 km

CUBA

Dense eastern

suburbs go dark

Holguin

Camaguey

Santiago

de Cuba

◼ Dimmer

◼ Normal

◼ No detected light

Santa

Clara

Havana

CUBA

Dense eastern

suburbs go dark

Holguin

Camaguey

100 mi

Santiago

de Cuba

100 km

Dimmer

Normal

No detected light

Santa

Clara

Havana

Holguin

CUBA

Dense eastern

suburbs go dark

Camaguey

100 mi

Santiago

de Cuba

100 km

Streetlights and residential grids that once illuminated those areas have largely gone dark. Santiago is the island’s second-largest city, home to a once-bustling port and industrial facilities, while Holguin is another provincial capital and a major hub for tourists headed to resorts along the north coast.

The notable exception is Havana. Though the capital’s eastern suburbs of Cojimar and Alamar are significantly darker, the data show the lights have largely stayed on in the central part of the city that is home to a fifth of the communist-run island’s roughly 10 million people.

Cuba’s Grid Can't Keep the Whole Island Lit

Comparison of nighttime light intensity across major cities

January 2017–2022

January 2026

2 miles

Holguin

2 km

Santiago

de Cuba

Havana

January 2017–2022

January 2026

2 miles

Holguin

2 km

Santiago

de Cuba

Havana

Havana contains major industrial areas and military installations. It’s also the seat of government. So it’s natural that President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s administration would prioritize it over other places.

But the disparity in the satellite images of Havana at night versus other cities could also reflect differences in both income and technological adaptation, according to Michael Bustamante, chair of Cuban studies at the University of Miami.

“Given the already precarious circumstances of the electric grid, many Cubans have figured out ways to import solar panels,” he said in an interview. “That's not a necessarily cheap proposition.”

Read more: Miami Elites Who Dream of Rebuilding Cuba Fear It’s Too Far Gone

It stands to reason that Havana, the wealthiest part of the island, would see greater uptake of solar panels, Bustamante said. Battery systems that charge while the electric grid is on, to then power appliances when it’s not, are also commonly used in the capital, he added.

The disparity is stark when zooming in on major population centers. Daily readouts from Unión Eléctrica, the state authority that controls the island’s power infrastructure, show the collapse in supply roughly coincides with the capture of Cuba’s principal ally in Venezuela.

On Jan. 3, US forces whisked Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro away from Caracas to face narco-terrorism charges in New York. President Donald Trump swiftly ordered the interim government left behind to halt all shipments of energy to and financing for its allies in Havana.

In addition to Venezuela, Mexico had been a steady supplier of oil to Cuba. It delivered a small cargo on Jan. 9, according to Kpler, a data and analytics firm. A few weeks later, Trump threatened tariffs on any nation that supplies the island with fuel, cutting off that flow as well. As a result, Havana has now gone a full month without a major fuel delivery, the data show.

Some analysts estimate Cuba has enough oil left in storage to last fewer than 20 days, but no official figures are available. Last week, the government unveiled a series of contingency measures including reducing public transportation routes, shortening the work week to four days, shutting down resorts and limiting gasoline sales to consumers who can pay in dollars.

It’s now a waiting game between Washington and Havana to see who blinks first. Trump argues the regime is so weak it will collapse on its own and is severing all sources of external support to speed the process. Díaz-Canel has indicated he’s open to negotiations with the US, but not about the country’s one-party system of government.

Read more: As US Chokes Oil Supplies, Can Cuba’s Regime Survive?

From rural towns to provincial capitals and Havana itself, everyday Cubans are living under increasing duress as a result. While the regime survived the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s through similarly aggressive belt-tightening and stoicism, it could still import fuel to keep the lights on.

Not being able to do so this time, Bustamante said, represents “a very significant blow that will severely strain an already severely strained electric grid.”