Jamaicans with relatives in Cuba are concerned about their loved ones as citizens in the communist country grapple with extreme food shortages, limited access to healthcare and daily power outages due to an oil blockade imposed by the US.
The Caribbean island was already struggling economically due to decades of U.S. sanctions, but things rapidly deteriorated in January when shipments were halted from its main supplier, Venezuela, following a U.S. military operation to capture President Nicolas Maduro. Other oil suppliers, such as Mexico, have since suspended shipments after US president Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on those who try to supply Cuba with oil.
*Sasha Brady, a Jamaican who is married to a Cuban, painted a grim picture of life in the communist state during her last visit in January. Although she has been married for a few years now, her husband is unable to come to live in Jamaica, since this country no longer offers citizenship to Cubans based on marriage. She cherishes every opportunity to go and spend time with him.
“They usually have blackouts. It’s usually a norm for them, but this time it’s worse. Hours with no electricity at all. And when the electricity goes, the water goes. And the sad thing is that a lot of Cubans have electric stoves because they don’t have gas stoves. So they have an electric stove, or the stove tops. So when there’s no electricity, there’s nowhere to cook. So you have to time yourself. If the light comes back at 3 a.m., you have to go and cook at 3 a.m. Believe it or not. It is so stressful because it [electricity] can just last for probably one hour, two hours, and then there’s no light again,” she told the Freedom Come Rain newspaper in a recent interview.
The spontaneous blockouts have interrupted the transportation sector, and for those with private transportation, the cost for gas is prohibitive. Moving around the city of Havana in a private vehicle is now a luxury only a few can afford.
Sasha, who came back to Jamaica recently, recalls the long lines to get gas.
“The lines for gas, I kid you not, are long from probably Half-Way-Tree to Portmore, and they’re wrapped around roads and buildings. I couldn’t believe that was a line for gas. What my husband says is that when you do get there, if gas leaves, you can’t get a full tank if the gas is rationed. So you can only have what they allow you to buy, so it is not going to last,” she shared.
“Chaos, chaos, chaos. “That’s what my experience was last month,” said Sasha, who faced many hurdles in getting to Cuba this time around.
As a Christian, Sasha has been interceding for her husband. She takes solace in the fact that God had ordained their union, and when she starts feeling overwhelmed by the news coming out of the beleaguered Caribbean island, she prays. He has welcomed the spiritual support from his Jamaican bride.
“It’s depressing what you see there and how the people live from day to day trying to get food to eat. Food is not prevalent like in Jamaica. You can’t just go into a supermarket and shop. Nothing is not in there,” she said, as she explained the rationing system where the government provides basic food items. The quantity of items provided have been dwindling since the COVID-19 pandemic and have worsened since the oil blockage imposed by the US.
“It’s like things are being tightened and squeezing the people. I don’t think they can survive longer, honestly,” she predicted.
The Financial Times reported in late January that Cuba only has oil reserves that could last for “15 to 20 days” at the current level of demand if no new shipment of oil arrives. Russia said the fuel situation in Cuba was critical and denounced the U.S. attempts to “suffocate” the island’s economy. Moscow has pledged its solidarity with Cuba and Venezuela and asserted its intention to act against any sort of military intervention.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has warned of a potential humanitarian “collapse” in Cuba, following the US efforts to block oil supplies from reaching the island.
“I can tell you that the Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen, if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
*Name changed to disguise identity of interviewee