Cuba Faces Total Oil and Diesel Shortage Amid U.S. Blockade, Protests Erupt

Cuba has run out of oil and diesel, its energy minister said on Wednesday, as an ongoing U.S. blockade starves the island nation of fuel. "The sum of the different types of fuel: crude oil, fuel oil, of which we have absolutely none; diesel, of which we have absolutely none … the only thing we have is gas from our wells, where production has grown," Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said on state media, according to broadcaster the BBC. A U.S. blockade has blocked shipments of oil into the country since January, prompting blackouts lasting up to 22 hours a day in parts of the Cuban capital Havana. De la O Levy said the country's predicament is "extremely tense." According to Reuters news agency, which has reporters on the ground in Havana, protests broke out in the city on Wednesday evening, with hundreds crowding the streets, blocking roads with garbage and shouting "turn on the lights." De la O Levy warned Cuba has "no reserves" and that its national grid is in a "critical state," the Guardian newspaper reported separately. Cuba had been heavily dependent on oil from Venezuela, but the communist-run Caribbean island has effectively been cut off since early January when the U.S. launched a military operation to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration has called Cuba's government "an unusual and extraordinary threat", suggesting the White House could turn its attention to Cuba when the Iran war is concluded. In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump said talks between the U.S. and Cuba would happen, without giving details on when they might take place. "Cuba is asking for help, and we are going to talk," he said ahead of his visit to China. The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that it was willing to provide $100 million in aid to Cuba, adding that Washington "continues to seek meaningful reforms to Cuba's communist system." "The decision rests with the Cuban regime to accept our offer of assistance or deny critical living-saving aid and ultimately be accountable to the Cuban people for standing in the way of critical assistance," the statement said. — CNBC's Sam Meredith contributed to this report.