The Cuban Government announced this Friday that will ration the sale of fuel, prioritize teleworking and implement blended classes in universities as part of its emergency plan for the fuel shortage caused by Washington’s oil blockade.
These first measures were approved by an extraordinary Council of Ministers and announced on state television by the Labor Ministers; Transport; Higher education; Education and the deputy prime minister, Oscar Pérez-Oliva.
In his speech, Pérez-Oliva stated that The Executive will prioritize the little fuel available “to guarantee” the “vitality of fundamental services” and “fundamental economic activities”, especially those that generate income in foreign currency, such as tourism.
“We are not going to collapse, because the Cuban people do not collapse,” said the deputy prime minister.
Likewise, Pérez-Oliva added that the Cuban Government will facilitate the procedures so that private companies “that have the possibility” import their own fuel. And he stressed that the State will distribute solar panels to essential workers, social centers and banks.
The measures announced this Friday resume the announcement made the day before by the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, during a televised intervention.
In it, the president assured that the emergency package will take as reference the “indications” of former President Fidel Castro during the so-called Special Period, due to the depression that the fall of the Soviet bloc meant for the island.
Díaz-Canel rescued the concept of the “zero option”the survival plan proposed in the nineties in the face of the “zero oil” scenario. This involved extreme rationing, the use of animal traction, charcoal for cooking and non-motorized transportation, and food self-sufficiency.
In fact, Pérez-Oliva affirmed that the Executive is going to “promote” the “development of agriculture” in cities and homes to alleviate the decline in agricultural production due to the lack of fuel.
The fuel shortage will also affect workplaces, universities and passenger transportation.
The Minister of Labor, Jesús Otamendiz, stated on state television that the Government will promote teleworking and the relocation of workers in state companies. While the head of Higher Education, Walter Baluja, maintained that university centers will move to a hybrid model (blended classes).
Train travel will suffer the most abrupt changes for the moment. According to the Cuban Minister of Transportation, Eduardo Rodríguez, National routes will be carried out every eight days per destination.
Chronic crisis
Cuba has suffered a serious energy crisis since mid-2024 due to the frequent breakdowns of its obsolete thermoelectric plants and the lack of foreign currency to import the fuels necessary to fuel distributed generation.
The US military operation in Caracas on January 3 meant for Havana, in addition to the blow to a key regional ally, the end of vital energy supply for the island.
Different experts estimate that of the 110,000 barrels of oil per day that Cuba needs to satisfy its energy needs, Venezuela contributed about 30,000 in 2025.
Then the president of the United States, Donald Trump, added another twist to the pressure on Cuba by signing on January 29 a presidential order threatening trade tariffs to all countries that supplied oil to the island.
Cuban expert Jorge Piñón, a specialist at the Energy Institute of the University of Texas (USA), estimated for EFE that, if new oil shipments are not received, Cuba would be in a “serious crisis” by March.
So far this year, Cuba has barely has received an oil tanker, from Mexico, with about 86,000 barrels of crude oil.