Island country only has oil enough to last 15-20 days, and 12-hour blackouts have become commonplace

Thomas Graham in Tijuana and Ruaridh Nicoll in Havana
Fri 30 Jan 2026 13.08 EST

Sheinbaum’s comments came after a week of increasing threats from Washington. US officials briefed that gunboats could be deployed off Cuba, and said efforts were under way to find Cuban ministers prepared to collaborate with the US.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mike Hammer, the US chargé d’affaires in Havana, said: “The Cubans have complained for years about a ‘blockade’, but now there is going to be a real blockade.”