Further Decline In Oil Shipments Threatens To Deepen Cuba's Economic Collapse, Experts Say

Experts are warning that Cuba's ongoing shortage of oil will deepen as the U.S. cuts shipments from Venezuela following the capture of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro.

The New York Times detailed that the country needs 100,000 barrels of oil a day to function, but it's not getting nearly enough. In fact, a regime-run television and radio broadcaster said on Tuesday it was off the air for several days because it didn't have diesel to power the station.

The outlet noted that shipments from Venezuela, an ideological ally, had already been declining. At its peak it would send 100,000 barrels a day, but the figure had dropped to about 35,000, according to experts quoted by the outlet.

Without cash or lines of credit, Cuba sent doctors, nurses and other professionals, as well as troops who were a key part of his security detail. 32 Cuban soldiers died in the raid where Maduro was captured.

Following the episode, President Donald Trump said all oil shipments to Cuba would stop. Several top officials, particularly Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents left the island, have said their goal is ending the regime.

"If Cuba loses that, the impact is basically going to be catastrophic," former oil executive Jorge Piñon said. "The chain of events is that the Cuban economy literally collapses, there is no food in the markets, the trains are not moving, the buses are not moving," he added.

A recent report from CBS News noted that despite Trump's announcement, the administration intends to allow Mexico to continue providing oil to the island. The government is is not seeking to catalyze the collapse of the Cuban regime, but rather negotiate a transition away from its authoritarian communist system, it added.

The lack of fuel not only has immersed the country in darkness, but could also alter the supply of water.

Cuba is already experiencing its worst economic island in the almost 70 years since the communist revolution, according to a recent report.

According to a recent poll, over three in four Cubans intend to flee the country. The survey was conducted by the Social Rights Observatory during the summer and reported by the Wall Street Journal as part of a broader piece about the country's crumbling economy.

The same poll showed that seven in ten respondents go at least without a meal a day and nearly 90% live in extreme poverty. Moreover, for over 70% of Cubans their main concerns are the lack of food and constant blackouts.

Some 2.7 million people have already left Cuba since 2020, a quarter of the population. Hundreds of thousands have gone to the U.S., Havana-based demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos told the outlet.