Source: https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/18/americas/cuba-us-trump-oil-tourism-intl-latam
According to CNN, Cuba is facing a deepening economic crisis as pressure from the United States intensifies under President Donald Trump. Recent US actions targeting regional oil supplies have significantly reduced the fuel available to the island, creating widespread shortages that are disrupting daily life and damaging key sectors of the economy.
For years, Cuba relied heavily on oil from Venezuela, but new US measures aimed at isolating Venezuelan leadership have sharply limited that supply. As fuel imports decline, Cuba is struggling to maintain electricity production, transportation systems, and tourism operations. The shortage has led to more frequent power outages and service interruptions across the country.
Airlines have begun canceling flights because of limited jet fuel, and some hotels are reducing operations or closing altogether. Tourism, which is one of Cuba’s primary sources of foreign currency, has slowed dramatically. Workers who depend on visitors, including drivers and hospitality employees, are experiencing lost income as fewer travelers arrive.
US officials say the strategy is designed to pressure Havana into political and economic reforms. Critics argue that the measures could worsen humanitarian conditions for ordinary Cubans while offering limited immediate solutions to the island’s growing economic instability.
This is an example of economic hard power. With the United States curtailing certain economic processes of the Cuban government, it shifted the ability for the government to use certain products and resources imported by other countries. Cuba is a carribean country that produces sugar and other cash crops and exports them across the world. Ever since the oil embargo, Cuba has been extremely limited on what they can and can’t do in terms of production. This has deminished the amount of economic return the Cuban government makes. This is all because of a widespread American first effort Trump has initiated to keep out foreign powers from the Americas. It also has the purpose of spreading American democracy as Cuba is a communist country that has many anti-capitalist ideas.