Cuba struggles to ease power cuts amid reduced fuel supplies from Venezuela

20/11/2025 6:34

Cuba's imports of crude and fuel in the first 10 months of the year fell more than a third compared with the same period of 2024 as key allies Mexico and

Venezuela slashed supplies, according to shipping data and documents seen by Reuters, preventing the Caribbean country from easing daily power cuts.



The Communist-run island relies on imported refined products to meet demand, including fuel oil and diesel for power generation, and jet fuel and gasoline for transportation. U.S. sanctions and a deep economic crisis have for years made it impossible for the government to buy enough fuel, forcing a growing dependence on allies.



Between January and October, Cuba's oil imports from Mexico - which emerged as a reliable provider in 2023 after regularizing shipments of light crude - declined to some 5,000 barrels per day, a 73% fall from the 18,800 bpd received in the same period of 2024, according to the shipping data.