LAS MINAS, Cuba (AP) 鈥� Eduardo Obiols Sobredo struggles to feed Cubans young and old, a task even harder now because of a that has caused sweeping water and power outages along with severe gas shortages.
鈥淚 feel like crying,鈥� the 58-year-old farmer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so sad to see crops grown with so much effort go to waste, especially when you know there are so many who need them.鈥�
Farming equipment is falling silent across , with to power it. Farmers like Obiols Sobredo are turning to animal and manual labor, but not everyone can afford it, and resources are limited.
As a result, across Cuba, a country of nearly 10 million people. The quality and quantity of fruit and vegetables is diminishing, and prices are surging even further beyond the means of many across the island nation.
While the pinches energy supplies around the world, Cuba is the rare place blaming the Trump administration’s targeted actions instead.
A spiraling crisis affects Cuba’s most vulnerable
Cuba spent three months after the , a key supplier, and on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba.
The island was already suffocating under a sharp increase in longtime U.S. sanctions, which prevent it from importing certain goods. The Trump administration demands that Cuba’s socialist government release political prisoners, implement major economic reforms and change its way of governance to avoid becoming a national security threat. Cuba has repeatedly said it poses no threat to the U.S.
As tensions remain high, top-ranking officials are visiting farmers across Cuba, urging them to step up production so the country can be even more self-sufficient.
But the effects of the U.S. energy blockade are stark in the town of Las Minas, which has 65 farmers and only 18 oxen.
Obiols Sobredo rents the animals and their handlers when they’re available, but he relies on manual labor for smaller jobs on his farm. He grows tomatoes, sorghum, cassava and other crops. He also raises goats, whose milk is served at schools.
He and others farmers are part of a network that supports Cuba’s most vulnerable, including people in orphanages and nursing homes.
Clearing his land once took 15 minutes with farm equipment. It now takes at least three days. January was the last time he received the usual monthly supply of gasoline from the government.
鈥淚t has forced us to take other kinds of actions in order to survive,鈥� Obiols Sobredo said.
The lack of petroleum also means the delivery truck doesn鈥檛 always arrive, forcing farmers to use what little gas they have to transport milk to a location where they freeze it, in the hope it won’t spoil before being picked up.
also prevent Obiols Sobredo from grinding food for his goats, which produce less milk because of insufficient nutrition.
He also can鈥檛 water his crops enough. A nonprofit last year financed a solar irrigation system for his farm, but he needs gasoline to set it up. He relies on rain that hasn鈥檛 fallen in nearly two months.
鈥楾hey know things are bad鈥�
Suppliers are relying more often on horse-drawn carts to transport produce, which becomes bruised during long trips to markets.
At a state market in Havana, where prices are relatively lower, 68-year-old shopper Juan L谩zaro lamented the state of some fruits and vegetables.
鈥淟ook,鈥� he said, pointing to a pile of small, greenish tomatoes. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e lacking fertilizer, you can tell they鈥檙e lacking water. Look at their color.鈥�
L谩zaro is a retired industrial mechanic but was forced to start working at a small convenience store to make ends meet. On a recent afternoon, he bought six potatoes as a rare treat.
鈥淚鈥檝e had to cut back. I either buy bread or I buy potatoes,鈥� he said.
He added that Cuba鈥檚 current crises are much worse than the so-called 鈥淪pecial Period鈥� in the 1990s, when cuts in aid following the dismantling of the Soviet Union sparked deprivation. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been hitting rock bottom for a while.鈥�
Another shopper, 64-year-old Griselle Guillot, now wavers about buying rice.
鈥淚 need to see how much I can buy, because I also need onions,鈥� she said.
Anthony Batista Guerra, a 47-year-old produce vendor, said there鈥檚 no need to explain the change in quality and supply to customers: 鈥淭hey know things are bad right now.鈥�
As the state market began to close, one vendor threw a tomato into the gutter. Shoppers had found it unfit to buy.
鈥楳y goal is to survive鈥�
On a humid morning, 82-year-old Argelio Gonz谩lez Juvier used a hoe to fight weeds around cassava plants on the farm where he works.
An official with Cuba鈥檚 interior ministry who retired in 1995, he now has been forced to work again to boost his income and chose farming.
鈥淭he earth provides everything. That鈥檚 what we should focus on,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have no other alternative.鈥�
He criticized the U.S. energy blockade, calling it a crime.
鈥淐uba doesn鈥檛 deserve what they鈥檙e doing to us,” he said. “The Americans think they鈥檙e the owners of the world.鈥�
Working alongside Gonz谩lez Juvier was 36-year-old Jordanis R铆os. He used to be a truck driver hauling sand, gravel and stone, but the lack of gasoline left him without a job.
He now wields a machete to clear farmland, hacking at yellowing grass every morning for $4 a day. He longs to return to his truck.
鈥淢y job is there. Just waiting for the country to improve,鈥� he said.
R铆os did not want to speculate about , with American diplomats flying to the island earlier this month for the first time since 2016. Details remain secret, although Cuba has said its priority is for the U.S. to lift the blockade.
R铆os said it’s all in the hands of officials: 鈥淢y goal is to survive here and see what happens.鈥�
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