Cuban president says lifting US blockade would be ‘easier’ way to help island

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday that lifting Washington's energy "blockade" would be a far "simpler" way to help the island than the $100 million aid package offered by the US, as Cuba faces its worst fuel crisis in decades.

"The damage could be alleviated in a much easier and more expedient way by lifting or easing the blockade, since it is well known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced," Diaz-Canel wrote on US social media company X. He said Washington will not face ingratitude from Cubans, "however inconsistent and paradoxical the offer may seem to a people that the United States government itself punishes collectively in a systematic and ruthless manner.

Cuba said Wednesday that it has completely run out of fuel oil and diesel, describing the national grid in a critical state with no reserves.

The comments came one day after the US State Department renewed its offer to provide $100 million in direct humanitarian assistance to Cubans while urging reforms and criticizing Havana's communist government.

Cuba is facing a fuel crisis amid a US oil embargo imposed Jan. 30, along with widespread power outages.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Cuba is "next" after the military operation against Iran, and that the Caribbean island will fail "soon."

Trump's rhetoric has also recently intensified, including a Truth Social repost suggesting he would visit a "free Havana" before leaving office.