Cuba’s Diaz-Canel open to US aid amid worsening fuel crisis, blackouts

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has suggested that Havana would accept humanitarian aid from the United States if it is delivered in accordance with internationally recognised practices.

But he added that, if the goal were truly to relieve the suffering of the Cuban people, the US would do better to lift its trade embargo on the island.

The president’s remarks came in a social media post on Thursday, one day after the US offered $100m in humanitarian aid to Cuba.

“If the US government is truly willing to provide aid in the amounts it has announced and in full accordance with universally recognised humanitarian practices, it will not encounter obstacles or ingratitude from Cuba,” Diaz-Canel wrote.

The aid offer, however, came with the condition that Cuba’s government government institute “meaningful reforms”.

Diaz-Canel described the offer as paradoxical given what he called the “systematic and ruthless” punishment imposed by the US government on the Cuban people.

“The harm could be alleviated in a much easier and more expeditious manner through the lifting or easing of the blockade, given that the humanitarian situation is known to be coldly calculated and deliberately induced,” he wrote.

Since the 1960s, Cuba has been under a comprehensive trade embargo from the US, one of its closest neighbours. The island sits just 150 kilometres, or 90 miles, from US shores.

But since President Donald Trump took office for a second term in 2025, US pressure on Cuba’s government has been heightened.

In January, Trump first cut the flow of funds and fuel from Venezuela to Cuba. Then, he threatened steep tariffs against any country that provides Havana with oil, implementing a de facto fuel blockade on the island.

The result has been island-wide blackouts and energy shortages that have left public services at a standstill, including at hospitals.

Diaz-Canel indicated in Thursday’s message that basic supplies had also become scarce. “The priorities are more than evident: fuel, food, and medicines,” he wrote.

US renews $100m aid offer to Cuba

Thursday’s comments came a day after Cuba’s Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy warned the country had completely run out of diesel and fuel oil, deepening the island’s energy crisis.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has signalled its goal is to see regime change in Havana, where communist leaders in the government have been accused of violent repression.

In a statement on Wednesday, the US Department of State indicated it had been negotiating in private with the Cuban government to offer aid in exchange for government reform.

“Today, the Department of State is publicly restating the United States’ generous offer to provide an additional $100 million in direct humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people,” the US State Department said in a statement.

“The decision rests with the Cuban regime to accept our offer of assistance or deny critical life-saving aid and ultimately be accountable to the Cuban people for standing in the way of critical assistance.”

Media reports have indicated that the Trump administration has privately pressured Diaz-Canel to step down, though such a move would keep much of the island’s communist leadership in power.

Trump has publicly pointed to his efforts in Venezuela as a model for how he would like to see adversarial governments change.

On January 3, the US launched a military operation to abduct Venezuela’s then-President Nicolas Maduro, and Maduro’s second-in-command, Delcy Rodriguez, has since been sworn in as his interim replacement.

She has conceded to many of Trump’s high-profile demands, including allowing US control over Venezuela’s fuel exports and more opportunities for foreign investment.

If Diaz-Canel were to step down, it is unclear who might replace him.

On Thursday, US delegation led by CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Cuban officials in Havana, including one possible contender: Raul “Raulito” Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of former President Raul Castro.

Both sides discussed potential cooperation on regional and international security.

According to a Cuban government statement, Havana also told the US delegation that Cuba does not pose a threat to US national security, as the Trump administration has claimed.