RoydadNaft –  Thick black smoke rose over Havana Bay on Friday from the Ñico López Refinery, one of Cuba’s key fuel facilities, after a blaze broke out in a warehouse near where two oil tankers were docked. Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines reported that firefighters brought the fire under control swiftly, with operations at the refinery returning to normal. No one was hurt, and an investigation into the cause is underway.

The incident highlights the island’s worsening energy emergency. Cuba’s fuel shortages have escalated sharply following U.S. actions in early January 2026, when American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a raid in Caracas. The U.S. also seized control of Venezuelan oil assets and intercepted tankers, effectively halting the roughly 35,000 barrels per day that Venezuela had been supplying to its longtime ally Cuba.

President Donald Trump has since declared that no more Venezuelan oil or related funds will reach Cuba, urging Cuban leaders to “make a deal” or face further consequences, including new tariffs on any country supplying oil to the island.

The shortages have triggered widespread blackouts, affecting hospital emergency rooms, dialysis patients, and water pumping stations. Aviation fuel scarcity has forced several airlines to cancel flights to Cuba, while countries like the UK have issued travel warnings against non-essential trips.

In response, Cuban authorities have imposed strict fuel rationing, reduced public services, and temporarily scaled back operations in healthcare, education, transportation, and tourism to conserve limited supplies.

Humanitarian aid arrived Thursday when two Mexican ships delivered 800 tonnes to Havana Bay. United Nations human rights experts have condemned the U.S. restrictions on oil imports to Cuba as an “extreme form of unilateral economic coercion,” with UN human rights chief Volker Türk expressing deep concern over the escalating crisis.

The broader U.S. economic embargo on Cuba has been in effect since 1960, but recent measures have dramatically tightened the squeeze on energy imports.