In Cuba, ‘It’s Never Been as Bad as It Is Now’

Cuba’s government is grappling with an economic collapse that longtime residents and economists say is the worst the island has faced since the 1959 revolution. Daily life has become increasingly harsh, marked by power outages lasting up to 20 hours, empty ration stores, and fuel shortages so severe that people wait months for gasoline.

“It’s never been as bad as it is now, because so many factors have come together,” Havana-based economist Omar Everleny Pérez told the New York Times. One Havana resident described enduring 15-hour blackouts that leave her anxious about losing what little food she has. “We don’t even know how we’re going to survive anymore,” she said.

U.S. sanctions and the decades-long embargo have tightened in recent years. At the same time, the Trump administration’s military intervention in Venezuela — which resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and U.S. control over Venezuelan oil production — has sharply reduced fuel shipments to Cuba. Oil deliveries that once averaged about 90,000 barrels per day under Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez fell to roughly 35,000 barrels a day by late 2025. The drop has severely disrupted electricity generation and major industries such as nickel production.

“If the oil supply were to stop completely, the Cuban economy would come to a standstill,” said Pavel Vidal, an economics instructor at Javeriana University in Colombia, in comments to NBC News.

Tourism, another key source of income, has stagnated at about half of its pre-pandemic level. President Miguel Díaz-Canel has acknowledged that the economy is shrinking, inflation is soaring, and food-ration targets are not being met. He has described the effort to restore stability as “a concrete battle” to ensure wages cover basic food needs, blackouts end, and essential services operate normally, according to the Times.

Roughly one-third of Cubans depend on money sent from abroad, while another third — particularly retirees — live in poverty. Analysts say U.S. policy has intensified Cuba’s crisis, but they also point to domestic mismanagement and strict limits on private enterprise as major contributors. Some government officials are now publicly calling for deeper economic reforms.

The worsening conditions have fueled a massive wave of emigration, with an estimated 2.75 million people leaving the country since 2020. “The domestic economy is in free fall,” said economist Ricardo Torres. “It’s extremely bleak and desperate,” Cuba expert Ted Henken told the Wall Street Journal. “Hope has disappeared, and people are desperate to leave.”

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