Cuba in crisis amid fuel shortages, ongoing blackouts
Power outages, empty gas stations and runaway inflation: As the US vows to force regime change in Cuba and blocks oil supplies to the island, families are improvising as best they can to weather the crisis.
Record freezing temperatures
Fuel shortages and blackouts have hit the island especially hard given an unusual cold snap in the region. On Tuesday, Cuba reported freezing temperatures for the first time in its recorded history, according to the Institute of Meteorology. Cuba has been under an embargo for decades, leading to ongoing shortages. Now, the US is moving to block all oil from reaching the island.
Out of gas
Much of daily life in Cuba has ground to a halt as the US restricts the island's fuel supply. Lines at gas stations are getting longer, and seemingly endless blackouts have been affecting water, communication and traffic. Cuba has confirmed "communications" with the US, but a formal dialogue has yet to be established. Mexico, meanwhile, has announced it will send humanitarian aid to the island.
Daily life in a blackout
Many are bracing for survival as the US threatens to impose tariffs on any country seeking to sell oil to Cuba. Here, Alberto Villar uses a lamp and a gas stove to prepare his dinner during yet another blackout in Havana. Over the course of a decades-long economic embargo, many Cubans have learned to make do with modest means.
Charcoal saves the day
On the outskirts of Havana, Igmel Tamayo sells oranges and charcoal. Since the US moved to block Venezuelan oil and money from reaching Cuba, fuel shortages and power outages have worsened. Charcoal, while expensive, has been a useful stopgap in the ongoing energy crisis.
Dinner over a wood fire
In the remote Poey neighborhood of Havana, a father cooks sausages outdoors after yet another blackout leaves the family without electricity in the house.
Repair, don't replace
Pedro Romero is a car mechanic in Havana, but his job is becoming more and more difficult, as gas and spare parts are in increasingly short supply. People will even carry washing machines across town to have them repaired. Sustainability is key to weathering the crisis: fix more, waste less.
Improvisation and creativity
Yaimara Ofarill is getting ready for work at a bakery in Havana. Rising at the crack of dawn is not easy, especially when there's no power to turn on the lights. Luckily, she has a flashlight on her phone, which lets her see just enough to put on some makeup in front of the mirror. Things might not be easy, but creativity and improvisation have always been part of Cuban life.
Scarcity determines every meal
Lines in front of the bakeries are long, and anyone wanting bread must be patient. With fuel shortages come soaring prices for food and transport. Everything is in short supply. People buy whatever they can, while inflation eats into their savings. The mounting US stranglehold on the island has sent Cuba into its worst economic crisis in decades.