Mexico boosts oil aid amid Cuba's deepening energy woes
Cuba has been grappling with a severe energy crisis for years. Power outages occur frequently. In December, however, residents waited up to three days in line at gas stations. Independent Cuban media has reported that Mexico is supplying the island with more oil.
Cuba has been mired in crisis for years. Since 2023, the island has experienced regular power outages due to power plant failures and fuel shortages. Gasoline and other petrochemical products are also lacking, particularly in Havana, the country's capital.
According to data cited by Radio Martí and the portal 14ymedio, from January to October, oil supplies from Mexico to Cuba increased by 43.5 percent.
Mexican crude oil currently accounts for about 25 percent of Cuba's total consumption of this resource. At the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2024, the average supply was already over 31,300 barrels per day. The new Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has pledged to continue supporting Cuba.
Cuba's energy crisis
The situation on the island is becoming increasingly tense. In December, independent media reported that queues at gas stations were growing longer by the day.
"In the worst cases, customers have to wait for three days to reach the pump," reported Radio Martí. The station noted that in many places on the island, long lines of people with jerry cans in hand are forming, stretching for kilometres.
In November, reports indicated that at least nine power plants were not operational in energy-chaotic Cuba. Two tankers arrived on the island with a total load of 126,100 metric tonnes of diesel. Although the shipment came from ports in Denmark and the Netherlands, Russia was behind its dispatch.
