Canada on Monday declared that it is developing a support initiative for Cuba as the nation grapples with power outages and acute fuel deficits exacerbated by an American petroleum blockade.
The nation is rapidly exhausting its oil reserves, triggering a desperate social and financial emergency for the 11 million inhabitants of the island.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand refrained from offering specific particulars at this time.
“We are preparing a plan to assist. We are not prepared at this point to provide any details of the announcement,” Anand said.
Cuba’s catastrophic energy crisis
Cuba is navigating a progressively catastrophic energy situation that has intensified lately after petroleum exports from Venezuela, its primary provider, stopped when the United States struck the South American nation in early January and detained its head of state. Mexico, another significant provider, subsequently ended its fuel deliveries following American coercion.
Air Canada and various other carriers have scrapped flights to the Caribbean territory due to a lack of jet fuel available on the island.
Canadian travel is essential to the Cuban financial system. Global Affairs Canada, a state department, noted that Canada represents the island’s second-biggest source of foreign direct investment, especially within the extraction and travel industries.
Canada would be uniting with Mexico in delivering humanitarian assistance.
A pair of Mexican Naval vessels carrying relief supplies arrived in Cuba earlier this month, a fortnight after US President Donald Trump warned of tariff impositions on nations selling petroleum to the island, worsening a deep fiscal and energy emergency in the Caribbean country. Those vessels delivered roughly 800 tons of supplies, alongside another 1,500 tons of legumes and milk powder.
The financial downturn affecting Cuba since 2020 has been aggravated by heightened US penalties intended to trigger a shift in the island’s governing structure. This coercion resulted in vital scarcities and massive power failures that reached a height in early 2026.
Since Cuba generates merely 40% of its needed energy, it is extremely susceptible to foreign embargoes. While powerful partners like Russia and China have denounced the US actions, their assistance has remained mostly gestural up to now.
Following the removal of Venezuela’s head of state earlier this year, the Trump presidency has shifted its focus toward Cuba. The almost complete isolation of the island currently represents the most significant trial for the administration since the 1962 missile crisis.
President Trump’s trade ban has stopped any petroleum vessels from docking at the island for several months. A vessel transporting Russian energy is purportedly en route to the territory to try and bypass the blockade, though the US has intercepted other tankers that attempted similar missions previously.
