Warning comes as US threatens tariffs on any nation that provides oil to the Caribbean island.
Printed On 5 Feb 2026
United Nations Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres has warned of a humanitarian “collapse” in Cuba if its vitality wants go unmet after the USA moved to dam all oil from reaching the Caribbean island and threatened tariffs on any nations that step in to assist.
The warning on Wednesday got here amid a extreme gasoline scarcity in Cuba that has prompted hours of blackouts, even within the capital Havana, in addition to a surge in costs for meals and transportation.
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Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Guterres, advised reporters in New York that the UN chief was “extraordinarily involved in regards to the humanitarian state of affairs in Cuba”, which he mentioned will “worsen if not collapse, if its oil wants go unmet”.
Dujarric additionally famous that for greater than three many years, the UN Common Meeting, too, has constantly referred to as for an finish to the commerce embargo imposed by the US on Cuba.
“The secretary-general urges all events to pursue dialogue and respect for worldwide regulation,” he added.
The US and Cuba have been foes for the reason that Cuban revolution of 1959, when Fidel Castro took energy, and his socialist authorities nationalised US-owned companies. Washington responded with financial sanctions that have been tightened right into a full embargo in 1962.
The Caribbean island has lengthy been within the grip of an financial disaster and had relied on Venezuela for its oil till US forces kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a raid on his residence in Caracas final month.
US President Donald Trump subsequently claimed management of Venezuelan oil and promised to starve Cuba of the commodity. He has labelled Cuba “an uncommon and extraordinary risk” to the US, and mentioned he needs to “make a deal” with Cuba’s management, with out saying what an settlement may appear to be.
Trump has additionally threatened tariffs on another nation stepping in to assist, prompting fear in Mexico, which is at the moment the island’s major provider of oil.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum mentioned on Tuesday that her nation was utilizing all diplomatic avenues to make sure crude shipments to Cuba. She, too, warned of a humanitarian disaster in Cuba however mentioned she didn’t need to put her personal nation “in danger by way of tariffs”.
“We’re wanting on the scope” of Trump’s threatened tariffs, “and we’re utilizing all diplomatic channels”, she advised reporters.
Sheinbaum added that Mexico would ship humanitarian support to Cuba this week and was searching for an settlement with Washington that might enable it to additionally ship oil. “There’s nonetheless no settlement on this,” she mentioned.
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel slammed Trump’s tariff risk final week, saying the US chief was planning “to suffocate” Cuba’s financial system below a “false and baseless pretext”. The nation additionally declared an “worldwide emergency” saying Trump’s transfer constitutes “an uncommon and extraordinary risk”.
Based on The Monetary Occasions, Mexico equipped some 44 % of Cuba’s oil imports, and Venezuela equipped 33 % till final month. About 10 % can be sourced from Russia and a smaller quantity from Algeria, it mentioned.
The British newspaper additionally cited the Kpler knowledge firm as reporting on January 30 that Cuba solely has sufficient oil to final 15 to twenty days at present ranges of demand.
The US embassy in Cuba, in the meantime, warned Individuals within the nation on Tuesday to arrange for “vital disruption” from energy outages and gasoline shortages.
Cuba’s Deputy International Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio advised the Reuters information company on Monday that Cuba and the US are in communication, though he famous the exchanges haven’t developed into formal “dialogue”.
