Cuba Under Siege

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
Brought to you by the Capital One Saver Card. With Saver, you earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment and at grocery stores. That's unlimited cash back on ordering takeout from home, or unlimited cash back on tickets to concerts and games. So grab a bite, grab a seat, and earn unlimited 3% cash back with the Saver Card. Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply, see capitalone.com for details.

**Natalie Kitroeff** (0:26)
From The New York Times, I'm Natalie Kitroeff. This is The Daily.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:30)
Is the Cuban government the Trump administration's next target, Mr. Secretary?

**Natalie Kitroeff** (0:34)
For the past six months, the Trump administration has been carrying out a maximum pressure campaign against Cuba.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:42)
Well, the Cuban government is a huge problem. Yeah, the Cuban government is a huge problem.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:45)
So is that a yes?

**SPEAKER_5** (0:47)
I think they're in a lot of trouble, yes.

**SPEAKER_6** (0:49)
Yeah, Cuba's going to be next. Cuba's going to be... Cuba's a mess.
It's a failing country.

**SPEAKER_7** (0:55)
And they're going to be next.

**Natalie Kitroeff** (0:57)
That campaign has included an oil embargo, an indictment against the country's former president, and economic sanctions.

**SPEAKER_8** (1:06)
What we're seeing now is a whole new level of punishment.

**SPEAKER_9** (1:11)
Will you make a public commitment today to rule out US regime change in Cuba?

**SPEAKER_10** (1:16)
Regime change?

**Natalie Kitroeff** (1:17)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_9** (1:17)
Oh, no, I think we would like to see the regime change.

**Natalie Kitroeff** (1:23)
And as Cuba's oil has dried up, the country's blackouts have gotten longer and longer.

**SPEAKER_10** (1:30)
Cuba is a country running on fumes.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:33)
The country will run out of aviation fuel today.

**Natalie Kitroeff** (1:37)
And fears have grown about a spiraling humanitarian crisis.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:40)
The island nation's power grid completely collapsed today, leaving the country with little to no access to basic services like water, food and medical care.

**SPEAKER_10** (1:49)
Doctors here say across the country, people are dying because of the fuel crisis.

**SPEAKER_11** (1:52)
No power has led to women delivering babies in dark hospitals.

**SPEAKER_12** (1:56)
And then, Cuba's energy minister said the island had completely run out of fuel, oil and diesel.

**Natalie Kitroeff** (2:02)
Cuba reported it had officially run out of oil.

**SPEAKER_10** (2:05)
Cuba has essentially run out of oil, not essentially, they have run out of oil.

**SPEAKER_7** (2:13)
Cuba's at the end of the line, they're very much at the end of the line. They have no money, they have no oil.
Cuba's in its last moments of life.

**SPEAKER_6** (2:25)
I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. That's a big honor.
Taking Cuba in some form, yeah. Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it, I could do anything I want with it.

**Natalie Kitroeff** (2:45)
Today, my colleague Lynsey Garrison talks to one Cuban about how his life has been completely transformed under Trump's pressure campaign, and what the future holds for the Cuban people. It's Friday, July 10th.

**Lynsea Garrison** (3:09)
Gustavo Torres-Armas is 25 years old. He lives in a residential neighborhood in Havana, just across the bay from the Capitol Center. He lives in an apartment with his mother and father, and every day, he commutes to his job at a contemporary art gallery in the city.
He told me the pay is pretty bad, but he loves the work. So he writes articles about Cuban art on the side for real money.
We could have talked about so many things. We could have gone back generations through his family's story and Cuba's decades-old conflict with the US. Or we could have talked about how Cuba's energy crisis, which started around the pandemic, has only gotten worse since the US blockade in January. But instead of going back years or even months, Gustavo thought the best way to explain this current crisis was to walk me through a single, typical day in a city under siege.

**Gustavo Torres-Armas** (4:10)
Yeah, so basically I wake up early in the morning, maybe I have water, maybe I don't. So if I have water, I can get ready like normal and go to the bus stop. And if I don't have water, I have two choices.
So if I don't have water, it's more likely than not that I have some stored water, right? Because whenever we get water, we quickly store it and I was prepared. But in the rare case that we didn't prepare water, I basically have to carry water. So I live in fifth floor in a building, and if I don't have water, I have to go all the way down to the cistern.