HAVANA (AP) — After a day of selling books, Solanda Onia usually takes a bus from an affluent seaside district in Havana back to her home in the city’s working-class heart.
But Thursday night, the bus didn’t come. The 64-year-old bookseller spent the night at a nearby restaurant, fearing this could become the new normal if the island runs out of gas.
Anxiety brewed in Havana on Friday, a day after Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned that U.S. efforts to block oil supplies would hit the Caribbean country hard and asked Cubans to make further sacrifices to survive the coming difficulties.
Already suffering from years of deepening economic crisis, many Cubans are asking: What more can we sacrifice?
“I’m very concerned,” Ona said. “Before, things were always difficult. But there was always a bus. A way to get home. Now, there isn’t.”
By Friday morning, working-class residents like Ona had seen what might lie ahead.
Public buses, which are already unreliable, stopped running entirely, leaving many people stranded for hours. Others can only walk long distances or hitchhike. The island’s long gas pipelines and power outages have become more severe as U.S. President Donald Trump mounts increased pressure on Cuba.
Last week, Trump signed an executive order threatening to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba, a move that could further weaken the energy crisis-plagued island.
On Friday, the national transport company also said it was cutting routes in the east of the island, while the University of Havana said it would cancel some events and push for more remote learning, citing “energy shortages.”
Meanwhile, much of the city of 2 million people – schools, banks, bakeries and shops – continues to operate as usual, underscoring how normal the crisis has become on the Caribbean island. Taxis, shared electric motorcycles and other means of transportation organized by some employers are still operating in the capital of Havana. However, taxi fares remain out of reach for many Cubans who live on a state salary of less than $20 a month.
Although the United States announced $6 million in aid to the Cubans on Thursday night, cutting off the island’s main energy source is a blow to the country, especially for civilians who often bear the brunt of economic crises. Cuba’s oil production accounts for only 40% of its consumption.
The island’s communist government said U.S. sanctions cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025, much higher than the previous year.
The crisis deepened after Venezuela – once Cuba’s main oil-rich ally – halted shipments in January after a U.S. military operation captured then-President Nicolas Maduro. Then, in late January, Mexico, Cuba’s long-time ally, stopped oil exports to Cuba.
Now left with no choice, many Cubans say the economic turmoil that current U.S. policies are bringing to their daily lives is comparable to the severe economic depression known as the “Special Period” in the 1990s after the Soviet Union cut aid.
“What does it mean to not allow a drop of fuel to reach a country?” Díaz-Canel said. “It affects food transportation, food production, public transportation, hospitals, institutions, schools, economic production, tourism operations. Without fuel, how do our vital systems function?”
For Cristina Díaz, a 51-year-old mother of two, the answer is to walk to work as a house cleaner. On Friday, she joined others on a stroll along the capital’s roadsides, once again adjusting to the new reality.
“We’re trying to live as best we can,” Diaz said. “What can I do? I live here, I was born here, this is my destiny. I have to walk to work and feed my children.”
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