Oil Revival—and Democracy—in Venezuela
There is no light at the end of Cuba’s tunnel.
Photographer: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images
The country has become politically isolated, with few dependable allies, as much of Latin America turns rightward and the political cost of defending Cuba's communist system has grown.
Cuba's government is resorting to extreme measures to ration dwindling supplies, and the US holds most of the levers over Havana's immediate economic fate, leaving the island's leaders to consider offering concessions or doubling down on their revolutionary stance.
Bloomberg February 12, 2026
Unthinkable until recently, scenes of hunger are being repeated across communist Cuba as food runs low in state-controlled shops.
After seizing Venezuela’s revolutionary socialist ruler Nicolás Maduro in a commando raid last month, the Trump administration is trying to bring Cuba to its knees by forcing its few remaining allies to cut off fuel supplies.
Under pressure at home and ever more isolated abroad, Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel has started to give ground, saying last week said he was ready for talks with the US “without preconditions and from a position of equals”.
“We’re starting to talk to Cuba,” US President Donald Trump said on January 31. “It doesn’t have to be a humanitarian crisis. I think they probably would come to us and want to make a deal . . . We’ll be kind.”
Financial Times February 13, 2026
The Economist understands that American officials are considering sending fuel to Cuba to stave off a humanitarian crisis.
Marco Rubio , who is 54, was not born there, but his passion to see his parents’ homeland freed from 67 years of Communist-Party rule has inspired much of his political career. Now he is in a position to make it happen.
The Economist February 12, 2026
President Fidel Castro och statsminister Olof Palme hälsar folket
Venezuela - We /US/ have a plan. She knows the plan.
Wall Street Journal February 12, 2026
Venezuela is home to the largest proven oil reserve on Earth
The Trump administration just struck a country with more oil than Iraq.
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