A small island country running on backup gas wells is not normally a market story. Cuba in May 2026 is the exception.
The Grid Is Out Of Fuel
Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy told state media on Wednesday that the country has "absolutely none" of the fuel oil, crude, or diesel needed to keep its power plants running. The only thing left, he said, is gas from domestic wells where output has been climbing.
A U.S. blockade has kept oil shipments out of Cuba since January, which is when Washington launched the military operation that removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Venezuela had been Cuba's main oil supplier, and the island has effectively been cut off ever since.
Blackouts in parts of Havana have hit 22 hours a day, and on Wednesday night hundreds of Cubans crowded the streets in protest, blocking roads with trash and shouting for the lights to come back on.
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Washington's Offer
The Trump administration has been calling Cuba's government "an unusual and extraordinary threat" and signaled it could turn more attention to the island once the Iran war winds down.
On Tuesday, Trump said on Truth Social that talks would happen, without giving a date. "Cuba is asking for help, and we are going to talk," he wrote ahead of his trip to China.
On Wednesday, the State Department said the U.S. was willing to provide $100 million in aid, tied to "meaningful reforms" to Cuba's communist system.
The agency said the decision rests with the Cuban regime and that denying the aid would leave it accountable to the Cuban people.
What To Watch
The U.N. Human Rights Office has flagged that the blockade is threatening Cuba's food supply, water systems, and hospitals.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with senior Cuban officials in Havana on Thursday to deliver Trump's message that the U.S. is prepared to engage on economic and security issues "but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes."
A country that just ran out of fuel doesn't have leverage, and whether Havana takes the deal is the part worth watching.
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