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Without Venezuelan oil, Cuba's economic crisis and energy problems will get even worse

A driver refuels at a gas station as others wait behind in a long line in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa/AP)
Ramon Espinosa/AP
A driver refuels at a gas station as others wait behind in a long line in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa/AP)

Cuba is in the midst of a deep economic crisis.

Since Nicolás Maduro was removed from power in Venezuela, its oil shipments to Cuba have stopped.

Here & Now’s Scott Tong speaks with Michael Bustamante about how events over the past decade have caused economic strain and whether real political and economic reform is likely there. Bustamante is a professor of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami and the author of the book “Cuban Memory Wars: Retrospective Politics in Revolution and Exile.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom