SOS for Journalists Latin America Culture Features Fun Opinion Interviews Diaries Photos Photo of the Day Videos CUBA Nicaragua Chile Music About Spanish Cuba Grinds to a Halt with New Government Measures February 7, 2026 to confront the fuel and energy crisis

Rationed gasoline is being sold only in dollars, drastic reduction of public transport, and higher food prices.

By Dario Hernandez (14ymedio)

HAVANA TIMES — Empty bus stops is the image seen across much of Havana, a city almost paralyzed. In Regla and Guanabacoa, where until recently the A29 route connected both municipalities, not a single bus runs today. Urban public transportation, already fragile, has practically disappeared. And the new measures announced on Friday threaten to worsen the situation, even if authorities avoid using the word “collapse.”

In other places, such as the Guanabacoa traffic light, there are crowds, but not because routes are operating. Inspectors stop state vehicles there and force drivers to take on passengers. “There aren’t many state cars on the street either,” clarifies a woman waiting, with no certainty how many hours it will take her to reach her destination. The result is improvised, irregular, and humiliating mobility, where getting around depends on luck, charity, or administrative coercion.

The near-total absence of buses is pushing people toward private transport, now almost the only available option. But moving around Havana this way is a luxury. A trip in a private collective taxi from the Guanabacoa traffic light to Parque de la Fraternidad cost 350 pesos this week; from there to El Vedado, another 200. In total, 550 pesos to cross the city. “I spent the money I had planned for this outing just on transportation,” summarized one passenger as he got out of a taxi.

Electric three-wheelers, once presented as a “sustainable” alternative, barely ease the situation. “They’re only a little cheaper — 50 or 100 pesos less than cars,” a passenger told 14ymedio. Their fares are also skyrocketing. For the past two weeks, ticket prices have risen exponentially, and transport operators themselves warn that increases will continue as long as the fuel shortage persists.

These light vehicles, with capacity for a maximum of six passengers, face an additional problem: the layout of their wheels prevents them from effectively navigating potholes. This forces drivers to move at very low speeds and take dangerous detours to avoid the many craters scattered across Havana’s streets.

The impact of the current restrictions is not limited to mobility. The transportation crisis is already showing up in the price of basic goods. A small shopkeeper in Regla reported that his suppliers raised the price of all bread by 20 pesos “because of the fuel issue,” and he fears the same will happen with the rest of the food supply. Rising transport costs are transferred almost immediately to the cost of living.

“People think that since work hours and school have been cut back there’s no need to move around,” reflects a Guanabacoa resident. “But what do I do if I want to see a relative, go out at night, or visit a nearby place like Havana or El Vedado?” The question sums up a reality the official discourse avoids: the city is not just work and study — it is also social life, affection, leisure. All of that is now conditioned on having enough money to pay inflated fares.

Government measures have not eased public fears, even though they have been presented as an “opportunity.” On the television program Mesa Redonda, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Óscar Perez-Oliva Fraga acknowledged the “low availability” of fuel and announced new restrictions. The Cimex Corporation reported that, “until conditions allow, fuel sales in pesos are postponed, as well as the commercialization of diesel fuel in USD to the population.”

In addition, starting February 7, the Ticket app will be implemented at service stations that sell gasoline in dollars, as was already done for purchases in pesos. The stated objective is to “organize the process,” but the imposed limit — 20 liters per registration — confirms the magnitude of the shortage. Far from normalizing access, the measure institutionalizes rationing and leaves out those who are not paid in foreign currency.

At the same time, the Ministry of Transport has announced a drastic reduction in interprovincial services, the suspension of national routes, and the readjustment of urban and worker transport nationwide. Trains departing at spaced intervals — every eight days — canceled buses, and exclusive priority for sectors considered “strategic” complete a panorama of near-total paralysis.

In practice, the State is withdrawing from everyday mobility and shifting the problem to citizens. Those who can pay move; those who cannot stay put. “People without money will get around through charity — or they won’t get around at all,” concludes one testimony. It is the country’s new reality.

First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.

Read more from Cuba here on Havana Times.

February 8, 2026 at 11:21 amPermalink What has cuba accomplished by holding on to their revolution and struggling when the world has changed and even their benefactors are no position to support them. It is time to give up, open up and start cooperating with the big neighbor. There is no point anymore in burying the head in the sand and make the people suffer anymore. The experiment in communism is over and has now failed. Get over it and move on.

February 8, 2026 at 7:40 amPermalink Foreigners travelling to Cuba merely helps prop up the regime. Boycott Cuba. Break the regime and free the people.

February 7, 2026 at 10:36 pmPermalink This Canadian is delighted that Trump is forcing the Castro thugs in Havana to finally, finally slink away into oblivion.

The light at the end of the tunnel has finally appeared for the starving, dirt poor Cubans sweating in the dark. They?ve had 65 years of this nightmare, most don?t even remember the prosperous Cuba of the 1950s, with the highest standard of living in Latin America. But they can see the world outside their impoverished island prison, with tantalizing restaurants, grocery stores, cars ? everything they have been denied.

Raul, ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.

February 7, 2026 at 5:04 pmPermalink Dear Cubans. Canadians are strongly pushing our government to help. It is all over social media. I, for one will continue to visit as long as the flights are available. We are also hoping Mexico, China, and Russia will step up as well. Countries need to step up to show solidarity together. The tariffs are paid by the United States consumers so the more countries show up, the better.

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