The United Nations has proposed an “action plan” for crisis-hit Cuba that includes tracking fuel use amid talks with the United States to allow energy resources to go to humanitarian aid, an official said Wednesday.
Francisco Pichon, the UN coordinator in Cuba, said a $94.1 million (€81.4 million) plan was proposed to keep vital services running for the country’s most vulnerable people.
Why is Cuba facing fuel shortage?
“If the current situation continues and the country’s fuel reserves are exhausted, we fear a rapid decline, with potential loss of life,” he told reporters.
“The feasibility and implementation of this action plan clearly depends on the fuel solution,” he said.
In late January, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba, pushing for a change in the island’s political model. The effective blockade deepened the island nation’s energy and economic crisis.
It has affected Cuba’s electricity sector, tourism, airlines and even basic civil functions such as sanitation. The UN previously reported that thousands of surgeries have been canceled due to power and fuel shortages and air quality has deteriorated as people burn wood for cooking.
The United Nations is in talks with Washington to allow the fuel to aid humanitarian purposes.
Pishon said the proposed plan includes a “fuel traceability model” to “try to reach an agreement, a path to getting access to the fuel.”
America is in initial talks with Cuban leaders
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Wednesday that Washington and Havana were in the early stages of talks, also involving former Cuban leader Raul Castro.
Diaz-Canel discussed Castro’s involvement in an interview with Spanish leftist leader Pablo Iglesias published on state media.
Díaz-Canel told Iglesias, “First, we must create a channel for dialogue. Then, we must create a common agenda of interests for the parties, and the parties must demonstrate their intention to move forward based on the discussion of those agendas and to truly commit to the program.”
The Trump administration demands that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in exchange for ending the blockade.
Trump has made no secret of his desire for regime change in Cuba, and has also raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover” of the island. Recently, he said he would “soon have the honor of occupying Cuba.”
Raul Castro, the 94-year-old brother of Fidel Castro, is still considered one of the most powerful men in the country.
Asked whether Castro would have a role in the resolution, Diaz-Canel said: “The second thing they have tried to speculate about is that there are differences within the leadership of the revolution,” he said.
Castro “is one of the people who cooperates with me and with other branches [Communist] The Party, the Government and the State have provided guidance on how we should conduct this dialogue process, if this dialogue process takes place, the President said.
Mexico to maintain Cuban doctor agreement
In other Cuba-related news, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday she would maintain a bilateral agreement with the island nation that allows its doctors to work in Mexico.
“This is a bilateral agreement that helps Mexico a lot,” Sheinbaum told reporters.
This comes as other countries in the region have broken their agreements due to increasing US pressure. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – himself born in the US to Cuban parents – has called it “a form of human trafficking”.
In response to Sheinbaum, the White House pointed to Rubio’s June 2025 statement when the US announced sanctions for Central American officials linked to Cuba’s “forced labor scheme.”
Edited by: Alex Berry