January 08, 2026
Cubans are bracing for a deepening economic and energy crisis after the United States seized two additional oil tankers linked to Venezuela on Wednesday, a move that threatens to sever one of the island’s last remaining energy lifelines. The escalation comes only days after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, further intensifying regional tensions.
At the port city of Matanzas, where oil tankers typically dock, shuttered petrol stations and long queues for fuel underscored the mounting strain on supplies. Residents fear the latest U.S. action will exacerbate Cuba’s already frequent and prolonged power outages.
“Now I think that with this situation, things will get worse, because now they won’t let oil come,” said William Gonzalez, a Matanzas resident, speaking to Reuters. “Before oil came from Venezuela and Russia, now it will only come from Russia. That’s one less source of oil, so the country must get worse.”
In a dramatic escalation of its pressure campaign, the U.S. military seized the Russian-flagged tanker Marinera in the Atlantic near Iceland following a two-week pursuit, according to U.S. officials. A senior Russian lawmaker condemned the move as “outright piracy.”
The seizure marks the fourth such interception since Washington imposed a blockade in mid-December on all sanctioned vessels entering or leaving Venezuelan waters. Earlier on Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard also intercepted another Venezuela-linked tanker, the M Sophia, northeast of South America.
For Cuba, the loss of Venezuelan oil supplies is particularly severe. Between January and November of last year, PDVSA shipped an average of 27,000 barrels per day to the island, covering roughly 50 percent of Cuba’s oil deficit, according to shipping data and company documents.
“The repercussions are not going to be very good,” said Mario Valverde, a business owner in Havana. “Venezuela was one of the countries that helped us the most with energy and fuel.”
While Mexico has emerged as an “important supplier,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that Mexico is not sending more oil to Cuba than it has historically provided.
The increasingly aggressive U.S. posture has been met with a mix of anger and grim resolve among Cubans.
“We are very dissatisfied with Donald Trump’s attitude toward Maduro, because it is forcing a country to submit by force,” said Manuel Rodriguez, a local resident. “If there are more blackouts, we will have to endure them as Cubans and resist until the end.”
Source: (Reuters)
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