Anger and anguish spread across Cuba as it learns of Trump's tariff
threat on those who provide oil
[January 31, 2026] By
DÁNICA COTO
HAVANA (AP) — Massive power outages in Cuba meant that many people awoke
Friday unaware that U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose
tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to the Caribbean
island.
As word spread in Havana and beyond, anger and anguish boiled over about
the decision that will only make life harder for Cubans already
struggling with an increase in U.S. sanctions.
“This is a war,” said Lázaro Alfonso, an 89-year-old retired graphic
designer.
He described Trump as the “sheriff of the world” and said he feels like
he’s living in the Wild West, where anything goes.
After Trump made the announcement late Thursday, he described Cuba as a
“failing nation” and said, “it looks like it’s something that’s just not
going to be able to survive.”
Alfonso, who lived through the severe economic depression in the 1990s
known as the “ Special Period ” following cuts in Soviet aid, said the
current situation in Cuba is worse, given the severe blackouts, a lack
of basic goods and a scarcity of fuel.
“The only thing that’s missing here in Cuba … is for bombs to start
falling,” he said.
Cuba is hit every day with widespread outages blamed on fuel shortages
and crumbling infrastructure that have deepened an economic crisis
exacerbated by a fall in tourism, an increase in U.S. sanctions and a
failed internal financial reform to unify the currency. Now Cubans worry
new restrictions on oil shipments will only make things worse.
‘Cuba is a threat to Cubans’
On Friday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on X that Trump's
measure was “fascist, criminal and genocidal” and asserted that his
administration “has hijacked the interests of the American people for
purely personal gain.”
Meanwhile, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez wrote on X that
Trump’s measure “constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat” and
said he was declaring an international emergency.
Venezuela’s government also condemned the measure in a statement Friday,
saying it violates international law and the principles of global
commerce.
Trump previously said he would halt oil shipments from Venezuela, Cuba’s
biggest ally, after the U.S. attacked the South American country and
arrested its leader.
Meanwhile, there is speculation that Mexico would slash its shipments to
Cuba.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that she would seek
alternatives to continue helping Cuba and prevent a humanitarian crisis
after Trump's announcement.
Sheinbaum said one option could be for the United States itself to
manage the shipment of Mexican oil to the island, although it was
necessary to first understand the details of Trump’s order.
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Drivers wait in a long line to enter a gas station in Havana, Cuba,
Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
 Mexico became a key supplier of fuel
to Cuba, along with Russia, after the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela
paralyzed the delivery of crude oil to the island.
“It’s impossible to live like this,” said Yanius Cabrera Macías, 47,
a Cuban street vendor who sells bread and sweet snacks.
He said he doesn’t believe Cuba is a threat to the United States.
“Cuba is a threat to Cubans, not to the United States. For us Cubans
here, it is the government that is a threat to us,” he said, adding
that Trump’s latest measure would hit hard. “In the end, it’s the
people who suffer … not the governments.”
The backbone of Cuba's economy
Jorge Piñon, an expert at the University of Texas Energy Institute
who tracks shipments using satellite technology, said a key question
remains unanswered: how many days' worth of fuel does Cuba have?
If no tanker looms in the horizon within the next four to eight
weeks, Piñón warned Cuba's future would be grim.
“This is now a critical situation because the only country we had
doubts about was Mexico,” he said, noting that diesel is “the
backbone of the Cuban economy.”
Piñón noted that the Chinese don't have oil, and that all they could
do is give Cuba credit to buy oil from a third party. Meanwhile, he
called Russia a “wild card: It has so many sanctions that one more
doesn’t bother (Vladimir) Putin," adding that because of those
sanctions, a lot of Russian oil is looking for a destination.
Meanwhile, many Cubans continue to live largely in darkness.
Luis Alberto Mesa Acosta, a 56-year-old welder, said he is often
unable to work because of the ongoing outages, which remind him of
the “Special Period” that he endured.
“I don’t see the end of the tunnel anywhere,” he said, adding that
Cubans need to come together and help each other.
Daily demand for power in Cuba averages some 3,000 megawatts,
roughly half what is available during peak hours.
Dayanira Herrera, mother of a five-year-old boy, said she struggles
to care for him because of the outages, noting they spend evenings
on their stoop.
She couldn’t believe it when she heard on Wednesday morning what
Trump had announced.
“The end of the world,” she said of the impact it would have on
Cuba.
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Associated Press reporters Andrea Rodríguez in Havana and María
Verza in Mexico City contributed.
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