[News] Cuba Responds to U.S. Oil Blockade With Energy Self-Sufficiency Plan

[Anti-Imperialist News]

telesurenglish.net
<https://www.telesurenglish.net/cuba-responds-to-u-s-oil-blockade-with-energy-self-sufficiency-plan/>
Cuba Responds to U.S. Oil Blockade With Energy Self-Sufficiency Plan
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Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel. Feb. 5, 2026. Photo: EFE
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February 5, 2026
President Diaz-Canel says no fuel has reached his country since December.

On Thursday, President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced that Cuba has a strategy
to expand the use of its own energy sources in response to the crisis
caused by the U.S. blockade on oil shipments to the island.

*RELATED:*

*Cuba is Open to Dialogue With the U.S. Without Pressure: Diaz-Canel
<https://www.telesurenglish.net/cuba-is-open-to-dialogue-with-the-u-s-without-pressure-diaz-canel/>*

Since Dec. 3, when the U.S. began a naval blockade against Venezuela, Cuba
has not received a single drop of fuel- This situation has had a broad
impact on public health, the economy, transportation, and electricity
generation.

Diaz-Canel denounced an intensification of U.S. pressure as part of an
“economic suffocation” strategy, which is aimed at sowing fear among oil
shipping companies and international suppliers. Nevertheless, his
administration is working to ensure that this new form of external
aggression has the least possible impact on the Cuban people and economy.

“Cuba will not renounce receiving fuel. It is a sovereign right,”
Diaz-Canel stressed, adding that surrender is not an option and making
clear that the U.S. has no right to impose its economic warfare on the
Caribbean island or on third countries.

The Ministers Council approved guidelines for a contingency plan designed
to confront attempts at economic strangulation. Diaz-Canel acknowledged
that while temporary restrictions on consumption and increased energy
savings will be necessary, those measures will not be permanent.

The Cuban government’s response is based on a comprehensive strategy to
transform the energy matrix, including the recovery of electricity
generation capacity — more than 900 megawatts have been restored — the use
of domestic energy sources, increased storage capacity affected by the
accident at the Matanzas supertanker base, higher national crude oil
production, electricity generation from associated petroleum gas and the
development of a national shipping fleet.

In 2025, Cuban authorities completed the construction of 49 photovoltaic
solar parks, adding about 1,000 megawatts to the country’s energy supply.
Currently, those parks are generating 38% of the national energy, at a time
when Cuba has been unable for several weeks to rely on distributed
generation due to fuel shortages.

Diaz-Canel said 5,000 photovoltaic systems of 2 kilowatts each are being
installed in an equal number of homes that previously lacked electricity,
which will allow Cuba to reach 100% electrification.

Another 5,000 photovoltaic systems are also being installed at prioritized
service centers, including maternity homes, nursing homes, senior centers,
polyclinics, residences for vulnerable children and bank branches, among
others.

Authorities are also distributing another 10,000 photovoltaic systems to
workers in the education and health sectors, while new investments in wind
power generation capacity are underway. The Cuban government also expects
to increase production of associated petroleum gas and supply manufactured
gas to 20,000 new customers in Havana.

The Cuban president recalled that successful tests were conducted in
December for refining crude oil and producing derivatives, as well as for
acquiring engines capable of using that fuel.

While none of these actions alone solves the problem immediately, they
allow for changes in the energy matrix and help prevent the situation from
becoming more severe. “The will to resist, recover and create will include
expanding local production of goods and services,” Diaz-Canel said.

His remarks come amid a growing diplomatic offensive in international
forums, where Cuba has systematically denounced the economic, social and
humanitarian impacts of the U.S. blockade, which has been in place for 64
years as a policy of “collective punishment”.

“What does it mean to prevent fuel from reaching a country?” Diaz-Canel
asked, before pointing out that it is a measure that directly affects the
lives of millions of people. He reiterated, however, that surrender is not
an option and that Cuba will not renounce its sovereign right to receive
fuel.

In his most recent report to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA),
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez denounced that between March 2024 and
February 2025, damages caused by the U.S. blockade totaled US$7.5 billion,
representing a 49% increase over the previous period. Cumulative losses now
exceed US$171 billion.

*teleSUR/ JF *

*Source: teleSUR*
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