Get you up to speed: US prepares to escalate actions against Cuba amid ongoing energy crisis
Cuba’s national electric grid has collapsed, leaving around 10 million people without power amid a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. The government is meeting with Cuban exiles in Miami and Washington to identify a government official in Havana who could facilitate change.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated he will engage in discussions with the US, as the country faces severe energy crises and economic challenges. According to William LeoGrande, a professor at American University, the Cuban government lacks the hard currency needed to import spare parts or upgrade its energy infrastructure, leading to a “perfect storm of collapse.”
The US government is meeting with Cuban exiles in Miami and Washington to identify a government official in Havana who could facilitate a leadership change in Cuba. Additionally, Donald Trump has indicated that action regarding Cuba will occur “very soon.”
Could Trump make a move to take Cuba this week? | News World
Blackouts have been widespread across Cuba after an energy blockade (Picture: AFP)
As a US energy blockade continues against Cuba, the country is weakening and facing blackouts, running out of food, and seeing vital medical procedures postponed.
By the end of 2026, the US government is hoping to ‘change leadership’ of Cuba, and is looking for government insiders to ‘cut a deal’ to make it possible, reports in January said.
Now, insiders have said Donald Trump could take more ‘aggressive’ steps to dislodge the Cuban government as soon as this week.
Speaking with the Daily Mail, a diplomat familiar with the ongoing situation in Cuba said: ‘Trump will move ASAP. The social costs, like putting the people of Cuba under duress, have become too high.’
The source noted that Trump is ‘obsessed’ with the war in Iran right now, but his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is hoping the President gives the okay to move forward with Cuba.
On Tuesday, Trump hinted at potential action in the Caribbean country, telling reporters: ‘We’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon.’
Cuba’s national electric grid has collapsed (Picture: AFP)
The government is already meeting with Cuban exiles in Miami and Washington, in hopes of reaching a government official in Havana who could help make a change happen.
The US tried to buy Cuba in both the 1840s and 1850s, to no avail, before Cuba gained independence in 1902.
America also previously tried to oust Fidel Castro, Cuba’s leader in the 1960s, through the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.
While Cuba produces 40% of its petroleum and has been generating its own power, it hasn’t been able to meet demand.
Cuba has close ties to Venezuela, having received oil and funding from the Caracas government before Maduro was ousted.
The island regularly has blackouts, queues at supermarkets and petrol shortages as it undergoes its worst economic crisis in decades.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said he will speak with the US (Picture: AFP)
Trump previously threatened Cuba shortly after the capture of Maduro, telling them to ‘make a deal’ with the US.
William LeoGrande, a professor at American University who has tracked Cuba for years, said: ‘The Cuban government doesn’t have the hard currency to import spare parts or upgrade the plant or grid itself. It’s just a perfect storm of collapse.’
Thermoelectric plants also have been using heavy oil, whose sulphur content is corroding the equipment.
Tomas David Velazquez Felipe, a 61-year-old resident of Havana, said the relentless outages make him think that Cubans who can should just pack up and leave the island.
‘What little we have to eat spoils,’ he said. ‘Our people are too old to keep suffering.’
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