Cuba Under Siege

The gist

Cuba is experiencing its worst crisis in decades as the Trump administration's economic embargo and sanctions have combined with longstanding infrastructure problems to create a country on the brink of collapse. Through the eyes of Gustavo, a 25-year-old gallery worker in Havana, the episode reveals what life looks like under siege: a day-to-day fight for basic necessities like water, electricity, food, and fuel that has fundamentally transformed Cuban society and eroded hope for the future.

Key takeaways

• Daily water scarcity: Gustavo goes without running water roughly 6 out of 7 days per week and must manually carry buckets from building cisterns to his fifth-floor apartment, a situation caused by drought, decades-old crumbling infrastructure, and power outages that prevent water pumps from functioning.

• Transportation collapse: Public buses have essentially disappeared since January 2024; Gustavo relies on a "cyclo bus"—a hollowed-out bus that carries motorcycles through a tunnel—or hitchhikes, as taxis now cost 1,000 pesos (roughly one-third of his monthly 3,600-peso salary), compared to 300 pesos before Trump's measures.

• Extreme poverty emerging: Homelessness and trash-picking—virtually nonexistent a decade ago—are now common sights. People openly discuss not eating, and Gustavo's coworker regularly comes to work hungry because he couldn't afford food the previous day.

• Food inflation and scarcity: A single pound of sugar costs 800 pesos (about 6% of Gustavo's household monthly income). Staples like rice, cooking oil, coffee, and cigarettes disappear unpredictably from stores; his mother watches the street for delivery trucks and coordinates with neighbors when supplies arrive.

• Energy crisis without end: Gustavo's neighborhood has continuous power due to underground electrical systems, but his aunt in another province gets only 2 hours of electricity per day on average—sometimes none for 24-48 hours. Many Cubans now cook with firewood in backyards instead of electric stoves.

• Normalization of crisis: Cubans have become so accustomed to deprivation that complaints about not eating or lacking medicine are casual conversation starters, not shocking revelations. The psychological toll is visible in exhausted, hollow-faced commuters on crowded buses.

• Hopelessness about solutions: Unlike past crises with clear endpoints, Cubans see no path forward. Fuel donations from Mexico and Russia provide only temporary relief. Many blame the government but also recognize Trump's embargo worsens conditions; some express dark wishes for foreign intervention or regime change.

• Trash and disease: With no fuel for garbage trucks, cities are drowning in trash that residents burn in the streets, creating hazardous smoke. Combined with no fuel for mosquito exterminators and no medicine, this has created breeding grounds for dengue and chikungunya outbreaks.

Notable quotes

"Right now, everybody here is struggling more or less in the same way." — Gustavo, explaining how widespread the crisis has become

"Things are only going to get worse from here. There's no way out." — Gustavo, reflecting the pervasive hopelessness among Cubans about the future

"It's normal. If somebody tells you, I couldn't feed my child yesterday, obviously, you feel bad for that. But also, you're used to it." — Gustavo, describing how Cubans have normalized discussing extreme deprivation

Worth a full listen?

Listen to the full episode if you want to understand the human toll of geopolitical sanctions through an intimate portrait of daily survival, or if you need a visceral sense of how quickly a functioning society can deteriorate; the TLDR captures the key facts and Gustavo's perspective adequately.