U.S. embargo, sanctions on Cuba impacting power, access to medicine

Havana, Cuba – Cubans are experiencing power blackouts and facing obstacles accessing medicine amid a strict U.S. embargo and sanctions that seek to put pressure on Cuba’s Communist government.

The Trump administration has made it clear it wants to remove Cuba’s regime. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the economic campaign is engineered to make the government feel like there are no escape valves, which is how people in Cuba describe feeling. 

A strict U.S. embargo on oil imports has left the country’s electrical grid in a state of near-collapse. Most places in Cuba, including Havana, receive only a few hours of electricity a day. Very often it’s less than that.

The energy crisis coupled with crumbling infrastructure have sent prices of basic goods skyrocketing.

CBS News saw parents lining up for care at a children’s hospital. But doctors in Cuba’s once-renowned public health system say they can no longer source critical, lifesaving drugs for pediatric patients. 

Some have turned to free, community-run pharmacies. Retiree Sara Emilia Marquez showed CBS News medicine that was donated after her monthly prescription started coming just once every three months, if at all. Others have taken to buying from black-market street vendors. 

The Trump administration has amped up its pressure campaign on Cuba in recent months, including by imposing new sanctions against Cuba’s state-run bank on Thursday, claiming it has ties to Iran. Cuba’s foreign minister insists the bank is “absolutely legitimate,” and calls the move collective punishment.

For the roughly two-thirds of Cubans employed by state entities, the sanctions are just the latest obstacle to securing money. Pensioners can wait for hours to collect their government wages, with some saying they go hungry.

At a bread line in one of Havana’s more upscale neighborhoods, a woman was picking up several loaves for herself and friends. Bread prices here have risen tenfold just this year. And with a government salary of less than $20 per month, she said she tries to stretch each baguette she buys for at least two days.

Cuba has enacted a raft of economic reforms aimed at opening up the private sector, but Cuba’s leaders have said not to expect political reform. While they have shown willingness to negotiate with the U.S. government, talks currently appear to be at a standstill.