"An Era of Barbarism"

"Humanity is experiencing something very complex, and [the U.S.] is governed by a president who considers himself an emperor."

"We must show him that ideas are worth more than weapons."

"This march is a message of our unity. Independence is sacred, and we will defend it tooth and nail, if necessary."

Rene Gonzalez, 64, Cuban protester, Havana demonstration

 

"The current U.S. administration has opened the door to an era of barbarism, plunder and neo-fascism."

"No one here surrenders."

"The current emperor of the White House and his infamous secretary of state haven't stopped threatening me."

"Cuba does not have to make any political concessions, and that will never be on the table for negotiations aimed at reaching an understanding between Cuba and the United States."

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel 

Members of the Cuban military honour guard carry urns containing the remains of soldiers killed in the U.S. strike and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas on January 3, during the funeral for Cuban soldiers at Colon Cemetery in Havana, Cuba, January 16, 2026. Adalberto Roque/Pool via REUTERS 

 

On Friday, tens of thousands of Cuban citizens demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana, furious over the death of 32 Cuban officers, killed during the U.S. military raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro two weeks before. The open-air Jose Marti Anti-Imperialist plaza across from the embassy was crowded in the rally the Cuban government organized during high tensions between Cuba and the United States, following the attack on Venezuela of January 3.

 

Cuban officers, part of President Maduro's security detail, were killed when the raid on his Caracas residence took place. The show of popular strength was Cuba's answer to U.S. President Trump's demand that Cuba 'make a deal' with him before it is "too late". Cuba, Trump crowed, could no longer depend on Venezuela's oil and money to buoy its fractured economy.  The 1960s-forward U.S. sanctions imposed on Cuba as punishment for its communist government has strained the island mercilessly.

 

The crowd of protesters transitioned their demonstration into a "combatant march" parade, a custom hearking back to the late Fidel Castro, where a line of people led the crowd, holding up photographs of the 32 officers that were killed in Venezuela. "Down with imperialism! Cuba with prevail!", shouted the crowd. 

 

A glimpse of a coffee being made by candlelight during a power outage in Havana in March. The disruptions are often blamed on Cuba's aging power generation system, which has been stressed by fuel shortages, natural disasters and economic crisis. (Norlys Perez/Reuters)

 

Cubans have faced shortages of the basic needs of daily life. The economy is now in worse shape than it has ever been. Up to the present the government had supplied the population with a monthly allotment of rice, beans and other staples through distributed ration cards. Although the rations lasted a mere ten days, now, because of food scarcity, government ration stores can barely stock the essentials, rendering the ration cards fairly worthless.

 

There is an app available where people must sign up for an appointment to buy gas, three weeks in advance of prospective purchase. Latterly the waiting queue has been three months. With scant fuel available for municipal purposes, trucks have been unable to collect trash. Pickups of domestic garbage have been faulted, and the result is outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever and chikungunya. Treatment drugs are no longer locally available.

 

Venezuela once provided 90,000 barrels of oil daily to Cuba although the last quarter of  2025 saw oil deliveries dwindle to 35,000 barrels. Now, with the U.S. in control, there will be none. Private enterprises were legalized in 2021 where private stores stock consumer goods comparable to those of U.S. supermarkets, but demand exorbitant prices. In Cuba a typical monthly pension is less than $7; a carton of 30 eggs is priced at $8.

 

"The domestic economy is in a free fall", said Ricardo Torres, a Cuban economist, now a fellow at American University in Washington. People now do their cooking over firewood. Cuba now produces 25 percent less power than in 2018.  

 

Cuban military personnel carry portraits of soldiers killed in the U.S. strike on Venezuela and the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a march outside the U.S. Embassy to protest against what they denounce as U.S. aggression in the region, in Havana, Cuba, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez (Norlys Perez)

 

 

"I, who was born there, I, who lives there, and I'll tell you."

"It's never been as bad as it is now, because many factors have come together."

"It's dark [severe lack of energy], people are sick and they don't have medicine [adequate food and medical drugs in acutely short supply]."

"There is food, and plenty of it [at MiPyMEs private enterprises] but the prices are incredible."

"Nobody with a salary, not even a doctor can hardly buy in those stores."

Omar Everleny Perez, economist, Havana resident