In March 2026, a claim (archived) circulated online that a U.S. oil blockade was causing 11 million people in Cuba to starve. One Threads user wrote:
The U.S. is starving 11 million people in Cuba. Right now. Power is out. Food is rotting. Water pumps are shut down. Sewage is overflowing into the streets. Russia tried to send humanitarian aid. The US Navy blocked them. American news isn't covering this. Here's why:
The American singer-songwriter Camila Cabello, who was born in Havana, was among the people who drew attention to the situation in Cuba on social media, writing (archived) on Instagram that people on the island were starving.
Claims about a U.S. blockade starving people in Cuba also circulated on X (archived), Facebook (archived) and Reddit (archived). Snopes readers wrote in, asking whether the claim was true.
Since January 2026, the U.S. has effectively imposed a blockade on oil shipments to Cuba, first by taking control of the Venezuelan oil industry after capturing President Nicolás Maduro early on Jan. 3, and then by threatening to impose tariffs on products from other nations that ship oil to Cuba.
The tariff threats have proved effective, and, because Cuba's energy supplies mainly come from oil, have affected all aspects of Cuban life, according to U.S. and international news reports and the United Nations.
According to the United Nations, Cuba had a population of approximately 9.7 million people in 2025 — somewhat less than the 11 million circulating in online claims.
At the time of this writing, Cuban and U.S. officials were in active discussions about the tariffs as their consequences continued to unfold. Therefore, we leave this claim unrated.
Blockade latest bump in rocky US-Cuba relationship
The U.S. has had a strained relationship with Cuba since Fidel Castro overthrew a U.S.-backed government on the island in 1959. Since then, successive U.S. presidents have imposed and tightened sanctions on the communist state.
On Jan. 29, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the "policies, practices, and actions" of the Cuban government constituted "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to the U.S. Because of this claim, Trump announced an executive order that imposed tariffs on products imported to the U.S. from "any other country that directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba."
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said (archived) on X that such tariffs would "strangle the Cuban economy."
On March 13, Díaz-Canel told (archived) reporters in Havana that no fuel tankers had entered Cuba for more than three months.
Three days later, on March 16, the Cuban Electric Union, the country's government-owned energy company, reported (archived) a "total blackout" across the national power grid.
At the time of this writing, the Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines said (archived) on X it was continuing to work to re-establish power across the country.
Tariffs raise concern over humanitarian situation
On Feb. 5, 2026, seven days after the U.S. imposed its tariffs, a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the humanitarian situation in Cuba could "collapse" if the country's oil needs went unmet.
Concern continued to rise into mid-February, when the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was "extremely worried about Cuba's deepening socio-economic crisis" and named "the recent U.S. measures restricting oil shipments" as one of the factors contributing to the worsening crisis.
According to spokesperson Marta Hurtado, restricted oil shipments affected all aspects of Cuban life, including access to water and food. Hurtado appeared to suggest that U.S. actions in restricting oil could also threaten Cubans' human rights, writing, "Policy goals cannot justify actions that in themselves violate human rights."
The World Food Program said on Feb. 12 that the suspension of oil supplies from Venezuela was "disrupting essential services in Cuba including fooding supplies," and hampering recovery efforts following the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa, which hit the island in late 2025.
As the U.N. bodies expressed their concern, U.S. and international media reported that people in Cuba were struggling to transport and store food because they lacked fuel to power vehicles and electricity to run fridges.
According to reports, the Mexican and U.S. governments had both sent humanitarian aid to Cuba since the U.S. imposed its tariffs. It was unclear whether this aid met Cubans' needs in order to stave off impending issues like starvation caused by food shortages.
Officials in talks as unrest grows
On March 13, 2026, Díaz-Canel confirmed during a news conference that Cuban and U.S. officials were in talks to find solutions to the "bilateral difficulties" that existed between the countries.
Unconfirmed reports in U.S. media at the time claimed that the Trump administration would seek to replace Díaz-Canel, remove older Cuban officials aligned with Castro and secure the release of political prisoners. It was unclear whether Cuban officials would agree to those terms.
Trump, who in January encouraged Cuban officials to "make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE," described the country on March 16 as "weakened" and claimed (archived) he would have "the honor of taking Cuba."
The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights suggested in February that sanctions such as the effective blockade imposed by the U.S. "increases the risk of fuelling social disruption in Cuba."
Such disruption appeared to have materialized by March, when international media outlets reported on protests against Communist Party buildings in Cuba. Díaz-Canel warned (archived) on X on March 14 that "There will be no impunity for vandalism and violence" as a result of frustration over "prolonged power outages," which he blamed on U.S. tariffs.
It was unclear at the time of this writing how long the Trump administration's tariffs would continue to restrict oil flow to Cuba.
Snopes has previously investigated rumors about Cuba and previous presidents' ties to the Communist nation.
DeepL.com provided translations from Spanish into English.