Fuel shortages, prolonged blackouts and a struggling tourism industry are placing enormous pressure on Cuban families and businesses.

Cuba’s worsening economic crisis is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Across Havana and other parts of the island, fuel shortages, electricity outages and weak tourism demand are disrupting everyday life, while the government continues to blame U.S. sanctions and external pressures for much of the country’s hardship.

For supporters of President Donald Trump’s America First approach, Cuba offers a powerful example of a broader argument: governments that restrict private enterprise and concentrate economic decision-making in the state can become dangerously vulnerable when energy supplies, foreign currency and international demand disappear.

But the reality is more complicated than any single political explanation. Cuba’s economic problems have been shaped by decades of centralized economic policies, declining productivity, shortages of foreign currency, weak infrastructure, reduced tourism and U.S. sanctions. The result is a crisis being felt most directly by ordinary Cubans.

Fuel Shortages Change Daily Life

One of the most visible signs of the crisis is the shortage and rising cost of fuel.

Havana’s famous vintage American cars remain an unmistakable symbol of Cuba’s past, but keeping those vehicles running has become increasingly difficult. Drivers who depend on tourists for income are confronting expensive fuel, fewer customers and an economy where household purchasing power has been badly weakened.

Some workers are adapting in remarkable ways.

Former professionals have moved into transportation and informal businesses, while electric tricycles and bicycle taxis have become increasingly visible. Solar panels are also being used by some drivers as an alternative way to charge electric vehicles when the national power grid is unavailable.