Tens of thousands of Cubans crowded along Havana’s iconic Malecón seawall on Friday to mark International Workers’ Day with a rally that put the country’s electric and petroleum workers at the center of the celebration — and underscored the severity of the island’s ongoing energy crisis.
Employees of Cuba’s Electric Union have been working 24-hour shifts as the national power grid continues to crumble under the weight of fuel shortages, aging thermoelectric plants, and what the government describes as a U.S. energy blockade that has choked off critical imports. The rally, a staple of Cuba’s socialist calendar, took on a more urgent character this year as workers and officials alike described conditions that pushed the grid to the brink of a total, systemwide blackout.
“We are living through difficult times,” said Yunier Meriño Reyes, an accountant with the Electric Union who joined Friday’s march to honor his colleagues. “We are carrying out a very tough, arduous and relentless effort — day and night — to provide electricity to the people who need it.”
Cuba’s power crisis deepened sharply after the United States attacked Venezuela in early January, disrupting critical oil shipments from the South American country. Later that month, President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any nation that sells or provides oil to Cuba, effectively severing the island’s access to international fuel markets. The result was more than three months without a single oil shipment, forcing Cuba to rely solely on natural gas, limited solar power, and thermoelectric plants that were already disintegrating.
“It was brutal,” Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy told reporters recently.
A Russian tanker carrying 730,000 barrels of crude docked in Cuba in late March, ending the dry spell. But the relief was partial and temporary. The oil had to be refined — a process that took roughly two weeks — and de la O Levy warned it is expected to last only until the end of April. He said the government made a deliberate choice to prioritize vital sectors, including agriculture and food production, over residential electricity supply.
“This enabled the irrigation of tobacco, corn and soybeans,” de la O Levy said. “There were more hours of power outages than anticipated because we diverted a portion of the energy supply toward production; we could not allow factories to remain idle.”
Some of the petroleum was converted into approximately 6,000 tons of diesel and fuel oil used to power hospitals, generators, and transportation. De la O Levy said the government has been distributing 800 tons of fuel per day — half of the 1,600 tons needed to significantly reduce blackouts. “If we used 1,600 tons, there would be fewer blackouts, but the fuel would last half as long,” he said.
Cuba produces roughly 40% of its required fuel and depends heavily on imports, making it acutely vulnerable to external supply disruptions. “Without this fuel, we would face a total, systemwide blackout,” de la O Levy said. He noted that the situation began to improve starting April 17 — “not the desired one, but significant.”
At the rally, refinery workers and engineers described the grind of keeping the island’s energy infrastructure operational. Rafael Martínez, a refinery worker at Cuba’s Petroleum Union, said crews have been working eight-hour days without stopping. He recalled his joy when he heard the Russian tanker had docked. “Our job is to push ahead, that’s all you can do,” he said, as colleagues played cowbells and a large drum around him.
Pedro Luis López Manzano, an engineer and director of maintenance at the Cienfuegos refinery, said in a video posted by the Petroleum Union that crews had to take extensive steps to restore operability because the refinery had been shut down for four months. “It’s a challenge, but we always thought it was possible,” he said.
Gustavo Rodríguez Cordero, an engineer and director general at the Petroleum Union in Villa Clara, criticized U.S. policy in a separate video posted by his company. “No one has the international right to oppress a people in this manner,” he said.
Amid the crisis, some workers emphasized their commitment to staying on the job despite deteriorating conditions. Katiusca Carreño, 53, who works at the Electric Union’s command center, said after the rally that resources are not reaching workers but that the workforce remains in place. “It’s hard, but not impossible,” she said. “We work 24 hours a day.”