. An island “under siege”, cut off from the rest of the world, where around 10 million people live in conditions that are dramatically worsening by the hour. The reason is the tightening of the American embargo, imposed by his government
Havana is almost deserted: there is no fuel, the electricity is constantly cut off, the streets are plunged into darkness in the evenings and economic and social life is practically paralyzed. The only ship in sight in the harbor is a Mexican warship carrying humanitarian aid, while any other approach is prevented by US forces.
Shortages of basic goods are widespread Medicines, baby milk and food are hard to find or inaccessible due to inflation. People trade what they have for basic survival items, and even common painkillers are treated like precious treasures.
Despite the usual resilience of Cubans, accustomed to decades of austerity, the state has virtually ceased to function: public services, universities, theaters, cinemas and other institutions have been closed indefinitely.
Education is collapsing
Particular emphasis is placed on the collapse of education. A system that was once a model for Latin America, with near-universal literacy, today only works for children under 12. Older students are roaming the streets aimlessly, sparking fears of a “lost generation” of delinquency, drugs and crime.
At the same time, mass immigration – about two million Cubans in recent years – has become a survival valve, as migrants’ remittances support those left behind.
People are looking through the garbage
The text also highlights extreme inequalities: in a supposedly socialist society, a privileged few with connections to the regime enjoy luxuries, while the majority starve.
Examples include stores that sell very expensive photovoltaic systems or luxury restaurants for a small elite, while ordinary citizens are looking in the garbage for food.
The post-pandemic tourism collapse and dependence on Venezuela’s cheap oil, which has now been cut off, had already brought the economy to its knees before the US embargo intensified.
AP photo / Ramon Espinosa
Social dimension
At the social level, the crisis even pushes young women into prostitution to survive and support their children, while the health situation worsens with diseases from rodents and mosquitoes.
At the same time, the government continues to earn huge revenues from the “export” of Cuban doctors abroad, keeping a large part of their fees, which intensifies the resentment of the youth.
Political dimension
The political dimension is omnipresent. The regime blames the disaster solely on the US and Donald Trump, due to a harsh embargo that now prohibits even the supply of fuel. The government is using the embargo as an alibi for its own corruption and incompetence. State repression, imprisoning dissidents and censorship are fueling the climate of fear, although popular anger is growing.
Historical references, such as the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, illuminate the deep rift in collective memory: some remain loyal to the revolution and suspicious of the US, while others see Cuba as having lost its chance for a better future and today suffocating under a corrupt, authoritarian system.
