Cubans scramble to survive as US vise on island tightens in push to oust government

HAVANA (AP) — Cubans are hustling to become more self-sufficient as the US government tightens its economic noose over the communist-run island in a move experts say is meant to force a popular uprising and usher in a new government.

A sharp increase in US sanctions was already suffocating Cubans when critical oil shipments from Venezuela were disrupted after the US attacked the South American country and arrested its leader.

The long-term repercussions of those halted shipments have yet to hit Cuba, but its people are not waiting.

Some are installing solar panels while others are growing their own crops or returning to a simpler way of life, one that doesn’t rely on technology or petroleum.

“It’s how you survive,” said Jose Ángel Méndez Faviel. “It’s best to depend on yourself.”

Méndez recently moved from the centre of Havana to a farm in the rural community of Bacuranao because of Cuba’s severe blackouts.

At the farm, he can cook with firewood and charcoal, something unthinkable in a darkened city apartment.

Méndez said he doesn’t know what to make of US President Donald Trump’s threats against Cuba, but he’s not taking any chances. He’s stocking up on gasoline, charcoal and produce, which he began planting three months ago at his farm.

Méndez also is thinking of buying back his old horse that he sold in favour of motorized equipment to transport vegetables he sells at local markets.

“You don’t need fuel for a horse,” he said. “We need to go back in time.”

Before the US attacked Venezuela and disrupted oil shipments to Cuba, the island already was struggling with chronic blackouts, soaring prices and a lack of basic goods.

With experts warning of a potentially catastrophic economic crisis, some wonder if Cuba is reaching its breaking point. For Trump, who signed an executive order Thursday that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, it’s all but guaranteed.

“Cuba is really a nation that is very close to failing,” he recently said.

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