Widespread protests erupted across Havana on Wednesday evening as Cuba faced its worst rolling blackouts in decades after the government announced it had run out of diesel and fuel oil amid a tightening U.S. blockade.

Hundreds of angry and exhausted Cubans took to the streets in several outlying neighbourhoods as night fell. Defying strict state controls on public assembly, demonstrators blocked roads with burning rubbish, banged pots and pans, and chanted: “Turn on the lights!” and “The people, united, will never be defeated!”

Reuters journalists witnessed several groups of mostly peaceful but highly vocal protesters across the city. The unrest marked the largest single night of coordinated public demonstrations in Havana since the current energy crisis began in January.

‘We have absolutely no fuel’

The protests followed a blunt televised address earlier in the day by Cuba’s Energy and Mines Minister, who confirmed the severity of the crisis facing the island.

“We have absolutely no fuel oil, and absolutely no diesel,” Energy Minister Vicente de la O said on state-run television, confirming that the national power grid had entered a “critical” state. “We have no reserves.”

Blackouts have worsened sharply over the past fortnight. The minister said many densely populated districts of Havana are now without electricity for between 20 and 22 hours a day. The near-total loss of power has intensified tensions in a city already struggling with chronic food shortages and limited access to basic medicines.

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Without imported fuel to run its thermoelectric plants, de la O said the national grid is operating on limited domestic crude oil supplies, restricted natural gas reserves and scattered renewable energy sources. Although the government has promoted its green energy initiatives - including the installation of 1,300 megawatts of solar power over the past two years - the minister acknowledged that much of that capacity is currently being lost because of severe grid instability caused by fuel shortages.

Blockade and tariffs tighten pressure

The crisis has intensified as the U.S. blockade on fuel imports to Cuba enters its fourth consecutive month, placing further strain on essential public services across the island of nearly 10 million people.

Cuba’s top energy official said the government is continuing negotiations to secure fuel imports despite mounting difficulties. He added that rising global oil prices and soaring maritime insurance costs - linked to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran - were further complicating Havana’s efforts to buy fuel abroad.

“Cuba is open to anyone that wants to sell us fuel,” the minister said, in what amounted to a direct appeal to the international community.

However, many suppliers remain wary of possible retaliation from Washington. Neither Mexico nor Venezuela - historically Cuba’s main suppliers of subsidised oil - has sent fuel to the island since U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2026 threatening punitive tariffs against countries shipping fuel to Cuba.

Since then, only one major tanker - the Russian-flagged Anatoly Kolodkin - has delivered crude oil to the island. The shipment, which arrived in December, provided temporary relief to Cuba’s refineries in April, but those supplies have now been exhausted.

U.N. condemns humanitarian impact

International concern over the humanitarian consequences of the policy has grown in recent weeks. Last week, the United Nations condemned the Trump administration’s fuel blockade as unlawful under international norms, stating that the policy had obstructed the “Cuban people’s right to development while undermining their rights to food, education, health, and water and sanitation”.

Despite the criticism, Washington has shown no indication that it intends to ease pressure on Havana, leaving much of the capital in darkness and increasing public anger on the streets.

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