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Since the Trump administration imposed what amounts to an oil blockade on Cuba three weeks ago, most media outlets have focused on how the island has radically cut back fuel consumption. But that's not the only story: The Cuban government insists overcoming the energy crisis requires a bold shift to renewable energy. A new solidarity initiative offers ways you can help.

Also:

Travel to Havana with Belly of the Beast!
Belly of the Beast’s Liz Oliva Fernández Cuts Through “Bullshit” Propaganda
Cuba Vows to Continue Protecting U.S. From Drug “Scourge”
More Talk About Talks — and More Anonymous Sources
Spain to Send Food, Russia Signals Upcoming Fuel Delivery
UN Human Rights Commission Condemns Oil Blockade
Canadian Mining Company Suspends Cuba Operations
Mexico Offers to Serve as “Air Bridge” to Cuba

Help Cuba Go Solar

During a televised address two weeks ago, Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel told the nation that during daylight hours, 38% of Cuba’s electricity is now generated from solar power.

Despite huge financial constraints, the island has quietly been building up its renewable capacity. Cuba currently has four wind farms, with a fifth being built in Herradura, a village on the northern coast of the eastern province of Holguín.

Chinese financing has been key. In 2024, Havana and Beijing signed an agreement to build seven solar parks. That same year, Cuba set a target of installing 92 solar parks by 2028. By October 2025, the island had 32 up and running.

“They’ve been moving very fast since 2024,” said Emily Morris, development economist at University College London. “They’ve negotiated the supply of the equipment and have organized a nationwide system of distribution, training and installation.”

While the oil blockade aims to create a humanitarian crisis, she said it also has the unintended effect of spurring the green transition.

“Market economies have used subsidies and carbon taxes to incentivize the shift toward renewables. But there’s nothing more powerful than cutting off oil to accelerate the energy transition.”

The Let Cuba Live! campaign recently launched a fundraising drive to send solar generators and panels to Cuban hospitals. So far, $167,664 has been donated.

“As Trump attempts to trigger a crisis by cutting off oil, we say: You cannot blockade the sun!” said Manolo De Los Santos, executive director of The People’s Forum, one of the groups organizing the campaign.

The Democratic Socialists of America will launch its Stop the Siege campaign on Sunday “to fight [the Trump administration’s] escalation, send material aid, build a powerful legislative push, and change the narrative around Cuba in the United States.”

And a coalition of groups, including Progressive International and CodePink, is organizing an air and sea convoy to deliver food and medicine to Cuba on March 21. See how you can donate or get involved.

Travel to Havana with Belly of the Beast!

Traveling here supports the Cuban people. Our immersive eight-day trip is the best way to do it.

You’ll experience the island beyond the headlines; stay in casas particulares (Cuban B&Bs); meet the protagonists of our documentaries and videos; visit farms, health clinics, artists, small businesses and community projects; and join exclusive screenings and Q&As with members of the Belly of the Beast team.

Join us in Cuba March 14–21 or April 4–11!

Belly of the Beast’s Liz Oliva Fernández Cuts Through “Bullshit” Propaganda

Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández was interviewed last week on the Chapo Trap House podcast. She spoke about the tightening of the blockade, solar energy, healthcare and the Cuban-American lobby.

“A lot of people in Cuba are realizing that this propaganda we’ve been getting [from the U.S.] that the blockade isn’t real, that sanctions only affect the Cuban government, is bullshit,” Liz said. “For the first time, these Cuban-American politicians are publicly saying that ‘if your mother is hungry and your kids don’t have access to medication, this is the price you have to pay to get freedom.’ And people in Cuba are like: ‘Wait, what? I have to suffer so that you can bring us freedom? This is crazy.’”

Other recent appearances by Liz:

Our reporting was also featured on MS NOW on February 14.

Cuba Vows to Continue Protecting U.S. From Drug “Scourge”

Cuba has cooperated with the United States on counternarcotics and counterterrorism efforts for decades. The State Department’s 2024 annual counternarcotics report recognized Cuba as an effective regional partner in fighting drug trafficking.

But the chapter on Cuba was removed from last year’s report — without explanation. Cuban officials say the move is politically motivated.

Despite the removal, “we continue protecting the United States from the scourge of drugs,” said Colonel Juan Carlos Poey, head of the Anti-Drug Unit of Cuba’s Interior Ministry. “They need to understand that destabilizing a country just 90 miles from the United States would ultimately create a problem for them.”

Poey also alleged that while Cuba has a zero-tolerance drug policy, “the main source of drugs entering our country comes from the United States, particularly synthetic cannabinoids.”

More Talk About Talks — and More Anonymous Sources

Axios reported on Wednesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been holding “secret talks” with Raúl Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, known in Cuba as El Cangrejo (“The Crab”).

Cuba’s Ambassador to the UN Ernesto Soberón Guzmán on Thursday dismissed the Axios report as “speculation.”

The report, which cites three anonymous sources, is the latest Trump administration “leak” that seems intended to hype the administration’s narrative that high-level negotiations between the two governments are underway.

Earlier this month, U.S.-government-financed media circulated rumors that Alejandro Castro, the son of Raúl Castro, was representing Cuba in negotiations with the U.S. in Mexico.

Trump has repeatedly said his administration is holding high-level talks with the Cuban government. But a senior Trump administration source told Drop Site News on February 9 that no such talks are underway.

Spain to Send Food, Russia Signals Upcoming Fuel Delivery

Spain said on Monday it will send one million euros in food and health aid to Cuba via the United Nations. The announcement was made following a meeting in Madrid between the Cuban and Spanish foreign ministers.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla wrote on X that the two countries reaffirmed their “willingness to strengthen political, economic-commercial dialogue and cooperation for the benefit of both countries.”

On Wednesday, Rodriguez Parilla met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Reuters reported last week that a Russian diplomat in Cuba told the newspaper Izvestia that Moscow will supply Cuba oil “in the near future."

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "We wouldn’t want any escalation [with Washington], but on the other hand, we don't have much trade with the United States right now."

Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war four years ago, Russia was hit with additional U.S. sanctions.

William LeoGrande, professor of government at American University in Washington, D.C., and a specialist in U.S.-Cuba relations, told Belly of the Beast that over the last two years, Russian deliveries have accounted for just under 10% of Cuba’s total oil consumption.

“The open question,” he said, “is whether Russia will now increase the oil it is sending to provide a cushion against the U.S. oil blockade.”

UN Human Rights Commission Condemns Oil Blockade

“Policy goals cannot justify actions that in themselves violate human rights,” said UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado on February 13.

Three special rapporteurs from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement last week that said: “The U.S. executive order imposing a fuel blockade on Cuba is a serious violation of international law and a grave threat to a democratic and equitable international order.”

They added that the Trump administration's claims that Cuba supports terrorism and represents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security lack credibility.

Canadian Mining Company Suspends Cuba Operations

The Canadian mining company Sherritt announced on Tuesday it is suspending operations on the island “due to fuel supply constraints affecting the country.”

The firm, which extracts nickel and cobalt, said scheduled fuel shipments to its plant in Moa, in the province of Holguín, will not be made and that there is currently no timeline for when deliveries will resume. Sherritt is the biggest foreign investor in Cuba.

Mexico Offers to Serve as “Air Bridge” to Cuba

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said last Friday that Mexico could serve as an air bridge for flights to Cuba, allowing planes to refuel en route to the island.

Sheinbaum’s offer comes after Cuba’s announcement last week that it can no longer refuel international air carriers. Airports remain operational, but carriers have been forced to either refuel in other countries or cancel long-haul routes.

Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that talks to explore whether Mexico can facilitate dialogue between the U.S. and Cuba are underway.

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