CERAWEEK: US energy secretary denies blockade on Cuban imports amid energy crisis

The US is not blockading Cuban energy imports, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said March 24, pushing back against criticism during an appearance at CERAWeek by S&P Global Energy that the Trump administration was using energy to inflict pain on the Cuban people.

During a "Future Energy Workforce" question-and-answer session, in which Wright touted accessible energy's ability to positively impact human lives, Wright was asked by a student delegate how he could justify the administration's "total energy blockade" that "was causing tremendous suffering" in Cuba, which has reported multiple nationwide outages since December.

"First of all, the premise is wrong," Wright said. "There is no blockade at all on energy in Cuba. In fact, we're actively engaging with the Cubans to try to get more energy there."

Cuba's crude supply underwent a structural shift in early 2026, with flows from Mexico and Venezuela effectively disappearing, leaving the island increasingly reliant on sporadic shipments from Russia, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.

Russian shipments, including a roughly 730,000-barrel cargo in March, have emerged as the only consistent inflow, but remain irregular and insufficient to offset the loss of steady barrels from Mexico and Venezuela, which have dropped to zero since December.

Those volumes of crude were long Cuba's primary fuel source for its thermoelectric power plants. On March 22, the country's state-run Electric Union and the Ministry of Energy and Mines reported it had restored power to just 72,000 of 2 million Havana residents, with five hospitals affected, according to the Associated Press.

US push to 'force a change'

The decrease in imports has come amid comments by US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressuring Cuba's longstanding regime. Trump has said he "may free" Cuba or "take it" and that the country was in "deep trouble."

"Cuba right now is in very bad shape," Trump said March 17, after Cuba reported its third nationwide blackout in four months.

Wright said the US is sending aid to Cuba and allowing deliveries of energy to private businesses on the island, but acknowledged the administration's political pressure on the Caribbean country.

"What we're trying to do is force a change," Wright said. "This is a government that's stopped progress on the island for 74 years. Any private business in Cuba can and is buying energy from the United States and elsewhere. The rate of aid to Cuba from the United States is the highest ever, the highest we can do, given the sanctions from Congress or United States."

"We are encouraging and helping the flow of energy to Cuba, and we want to see Cuba transform," Wright continued. "That country has been in poverty for 70 years."

Earlier in his appearance, Wright touted the ability of energy to raise the standard of living for citizens of developing countries. Seven billion people need access to energy to live a "better life," Wright said, criticizing policies designed to reduce access to the least expensive supplies.

"Don't drive up prices because you think it's virtuous, or you'll be popular at the cocktail parties," Wright said. "Think about the humans that are going to consume that energy. When you start mandating, and you start closing things, you start breaking things because of politics, not because of math, you're going to create a disaster and hurt everyone's lives in that area."