The human cost of Trump’s brutal tariff crusade against Cuba

The lack of fuel and oil due to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats has resulted in a domino effect of unrest in Cuba, including a decline in economic prosperity.

The lives of almost ten million residents have come to a standstill, as has tourism plummeted due to a lack of income flights and warnings from Britain and Canada against non-essential travel to Cuba. Schools are empty, classes are suspended and employees are furloughed to save energy.

Hotels report vacancies after the annual Habanos Cigar Festival, which generates millions in revenue. was cancelled.

Travel guide Mandy Pruna, who is famous for cruising in his bright red 1957 Chevrolet with visitors like Will Smith and Rihanna on classic car tours, reminisced about the country’s period of economic prosperity after former President Barack Obama restored diplomatic ties with the Caribbean country in 2015.

“All sectors of society have benefited from this,” Pruna said.

“You saw people painting their houses and opening new businesses. For me it was fantastic. It was the best era for tourism in Cuba.”

Now the streets are paved with mountains of trash as the lack of fuel prevents working dump trucks from doing their collection work in neighborhoods. According to DWonly 44 of Havana’s 106 garbage trucks were fully operational starting in February 2026. “It’s all over the city,” said resident Jose Ramon Cruz.

“It’s been more than ten days since a garbage truck came.”

The issue of a public health crisis has grown as Cuba appears unable to rely on its remaining allies to supply the hundreds of millions of dollars in fuel needed to keep the economy afloat.

However, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has called on residents to “resist in creative ways” and adopt what he calls “a war mentality.”

“We will eat what we can produce in each place. If there is less fuel, food will not be able to move from some municipalities to others,” President Diaz-Canel said during a television appearance in January 2026.

But the residents of the entrepreneurs don’t feel anything about it.

“We pay two to three times as much to replenish supplies and keep people happy,” said one food vendor. “There is no food. The impact will be terrible. We will have nothing.”

It doesn’t look like the country will get much help from the US as Trump has called the country “a failed nation” and pushed for a deal with Cuban-American Secretary of State Marco Rubio because it is truly a humanitarian threat.

While Florida Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar offers the opportunity to solve the suffering in the short term or “liberate Cuba forever,” those who call Cuba home, like Pruna, are thinking about leaving for good because he no longer sees a future. “Right now everything is uncertain. There is no fuel. We don’t know if there will be and how we will pay for it,” he said.

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