Mexico promises food support for Cuba as US stifles the island’s fuel supply
Sheinbaum says she is still negotiating with US after Trump threatens tariffs on countries that ship oil to Havana.

Sheinbaum says she is still negotiating with US after Trump threatens tariffs on countries that ship oil to Havana.

![Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the country would double down on solar power generation [File: Norlys Perez/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-01-17T014142Z_1618701892_RC2K2JA0KWPC_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-CUBA-1770321518.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

![A power failure left Havana, Cuba, in the dark on December 3 [Norlys Perez/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-03T150929Z_819452323_RC209IAKNZWK_RTRMADP_3_CUBA-CRISIS-BLACKOUT-1764781799.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)





Rescue teams are combing through rubble of historic Hotel Saratoga, where massive explosion also injured dozens.
Cuban president’s office says preliminary investigation indicates blast at Hotel Saratoga was caused by gas leak.
Cuba’s economy shrank by 11 percent in 2020, the sharpest contraction since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Cuba’s musicians have long supported the state but many are speaking out in favour of protesters.
Authorities will also unify Cuba’s two currencies, keeping the peso but eliminating the convertible peso, Reuters said.
Cuba wants to jump start a state-dominated economy hit hard by Venezuela’s implosion, US sanctions and a pandemic.
‘From the economic point of view, the pandemic has been terrible for me, but I hope everything will return to normal.’
A hostile Trump administration and crises in Venezuela have left the landmark Obama-era detente hanging in the balance.
The EU says it will continue helping Cuba to develop its economy following reimposition of US sanctions.
Rights group says detentions show not much has changed since Raul Castro handed over power to a younger leader in 2018.