Cuba’s fuel shortage forces farmers to sell land at fire‑sale prices

A study of U.S. media coverage found that a significant share of major outlets—The New York Times (39.4%), CNN (33.6%) and the Los Angeles Times (50%)—explicitly link Cuba’s power outages, fuel scarcity and rising food costs to the U.S. economic embargo, while other outlets either downplay or omit the blockade’s role.

On the island, the shortage of gasoline and electricity has driven Cuban farmers to desperate measures. A fourth‑generation cattle rancher in Camagüey sold his 7.5‑hectare farm, livestock and crops for under $25,000, despite the assets being worth more than double that amount. Dozens of other growers are posting land for sale at heavily discounted prices because they lack diesel for irrigation, tractors and transport, leading to spoiled produce and halted deliveries. The crisis, intensified after recent U.S. restrictions on fuel sales to Cuba, is reported to be “ten times worse” than earlier conditions.