Cubans criticize US fuel blockade amid worsening shortages

Cubans are criticising the United States and President Donald Trump as a fuel blockade deepens shortages across the country. In Havana, the crisis is visible in everyday life. Rubbish piles up in neighbourhoods because waste collection trucks cannot get fuel. Residents say the rubbish can sit for up to a month, raising fears of disease from rats and mosquitoes. The stench is overwhelming.

Electricity is also unreliable. For many, power returns for little more than an hour at a time. One resident, Anna, 72, uses that brief window to pump water, charge her phone and cook. She blames the US embargo directly, saying it stops fuel from entering the country and deters other nations from trading with Cuba.

Hospitals are under severe strain. Medicines are scarce and equipment is ageing. Dr Roberto Balmaceda-Manent, who has worked for nearly 50 years, says he has never known conditions this difficult. He and his colleagues rely on Cuban ingenuity to provide treatment.

Markets are struggling too. Prices are rising and customers have less to spend. A trader named New Yorker says the number of customers has dropped off. People buy only what they absolutely need, and because they cannot keep food cool, they buy fresh food daily.

The Cuban government blames decades of US sanctions for the crisis. Critics, however, point to years of economic mismanagement. For ordinary Cubans, the consequences are impossible to escape.