HAVANA (AP) — Massive power outages in Cuba meant that many people awoke Friday unaware that U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to the Caribbean island.
As word spread in Havana and beyond, anger and anguish boiled over about the decision that will only make life harder for Cubans already struggling with an increase in U.S. sanctions.
“This is a war,” said Lázaro Alfonso, an 89-year-old retired graphic designer.
He described Trump as the “sheriff of the world” and said he feels like he’s living in the Wild West, where anything goes.
After Trump made the announcement late Thursday, he described Cuba as a “failing nation” and said, “it looks like it’s something that’s just not going to be able to survive.”
Alfonso, who lived through the severe economic depression in the 1990s known as the “ Special Period ” following cuts in Soviet aid, said the current situation in Cuba is worse, given the severe blackouts, a lack of basic goods and a scarcity of fuel.
“The only thing that’s missing here in Cuba … is for bombs to start falling,” he said.
Cuba is hit every day with widespread outages blamed on fuel shortages and crumbling infrastructure that have deepened an economic crisis exacerbated by a fall in tourism, an increase in U.S. sanctions and a failed internal financial reform to unify the currency. Now Cubans worry new restrictions on oil shipments will only make things worse.
On Friday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on X that Trump's measure was “fascist, criminal and genocidal” and asserted that his administration “has hijacked the interests of the American people for purely personal gain.”
Meanwhile, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez wrote on X that Trump’s measure “constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat” and said he was declaring an international emergency.
Trump previously said he would halt oil shipments from Venezuela, Cuba’s biggest ally, after the U.S. attacked the South American country and arrested its leader.
Meanwhile, there is speculation that Mexico would slash its shipments to Cuba.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that she would seek alternatives to continue helping Cuba and prevent a humanitarian crisis after Trump's announcement.
Sheinbaum said one option could be for the United States itself to manage the shipment of Mexican oil to the island, although it was necessary to first understand the details of Trump’s order.
Mexico became a key supplier of fuel to Cuba, along with Russia, after the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela paralyzed the delivery of crude oil to the island.
“It’s impossible to live like this,” said Yanius Cabrera Macías, 47, a Cuban street vendor who sells bread and sweet snacks.
He said he doesn’t believe Cuba is a threat to the United States.
“Cuba is a threat to Cubans, not to the United States. For us Cubans here, it is the government that is a threat to us,” he said, adding that Trump’s latest measure would hit hard. “In the end, it’s the people who suffer … not the governments.”
Jorge Piñon, an expert at the University of Texas Energy Institute who tracks shipments using satellite technology, said there is no answer to a key question: how many days' worth of fuel does Cuba have?
If no tanker looms in the horizon within the next four to eight weeks, Piñón warned Cuba's future would be grim.
“This is now a critical situation because the only country we had doubts about was Mexico,” he said, noting that diesel is “the backbone of the Cuban economy.”
Piñón noted that the Chinese don't have oil, and that all they could do is give Cuba credit to buy oil from a third party. Meanwhile, he called Russia a “wild card: It has so many sanctions that one more doesn’t bother (Vladimir) Putin," adding that because of those sanctions, a lot of Russian oil is looking for a destination.
Meanwhile, many Cubans continue to live largely in darkness.
Luis Alberto Mesa Acosta, a 56-year-old welder, said he is often unable to work because of the ongoing outages, which remind him of the “Special Period” that he endured.
“I don’t see the end of the tunnel anywhere,” he said, adding that Cubans need to come together and help each other.
Daily demand for power in Cuba averages some 3,000 megawatts, roughly half what is available during peak hours.
Dayanira Herrera, mother of a five-year-old boy, said she struggles to care for him because of the outages, noting they spend evenings on their stoop.
She couldn’t believe it when she heard on Wednesday morning what Trump had announced.
“The end of the world,” she said of the impact it would have on Cuba.
Associated Press reporters Andrea Rodríguez in Havana and María Verza in Mexico City contributed.
Drivers wait in a long line to enter a gas station in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Lindsey Vonn crashed and injured her left knee in her final downhill race on Friday before the Olympics and said she hopes to recover in time for the Milan Cortina Games.
“This is a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympics… but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback,” the 41-year-old American wrote on Instagram hours after she was airlifted off the course. “My Olympic dream is not over.”
Vonn was the third skier to crash in the World Cup race in Crans-Montana where she lost control while landing a jump and ended up tangled in the safety nets on the upper portion of the course.
She got up after receiving medical attention for about five minutes, seemingly in pain and using her poles to steady herself. Vonn then skied slowly to the finish line, stopping a couple of times on the way down and clutching her left knee.
“I crashed today in the downhill race in Switzerland and injured my left knee. I am discussing the situation with my doctors and team and will continue to undergo further exams,” Vonn wrote. "Thank you for all of the love and support. I will give more information when I have it.”
Vonn's name was on the start list, with a No. 15 bib, for a super-G race on the same hill on Saturday. It was unclear if she will race.
The downhill on Friday began in difficult conditions with low visibility, and was canceled after Vonn's crash as heavier snow fell.
The American, who was expected to be one of the biggest stars of the Olympics, limped into a tent for medical attention before being airlifted away by helicopter, dangling from a hoist cable with two people attending her.
Before she entered the tent, Vonn had an anxious expression on her face and her eyes were closed during a long embrace with teammate Jacqueline Wiles, who was leading the race when it was canceled.
“I know she hurt her knee, I talked to her,” the International Ski and Snowboard Federation CEO Urs Lehmann told reporters in the finish area. “I don’t know if it’s really heavy and (if) she won’t miss the Olympics. Let’s wait for what the doctors are saying.”
Vonn made a stunning comeback last season at age 40 after nearly six years away from ski racing. Skiing with a partial titanium implant in her right knee, she has been the circuit’s leading downhiller this season with two victories and three other podium finishes in the five races.
Including super-G, Vonn had completed eight World Cup races and finished on the podium in seven of them. Her worst finish was fourth.
The crash occurred exactly a week before the Milan Cortina opening ceremony.
Vonn’s first Olympic race is the women’s downhill on Feb. 8. She was also planning on competing in the super-G and the new team combined event at the Games.
Women's skiing at the Olympics will be held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, where Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins.
Vonn was the sixth racer in Friday's downhill and registered the fastest time at the first checkpoint before landing a jump off-balance. She lifted her left arm and pole high into the air in an attempt to regain her balance. As she tried to brake, she got spun around and ended up in the nets.
Two other skiers crashed before her: Nina Ortlieb of Austria and Marte Monsen of Norway.
Ortlieb crashed in the same area as Vonn and Monsen hit the nets just before the finish area and had to be taken away in a sled. The race was delayed after those crashes. But then two racers — Wiles and Corinne Suter, the Olympic champion — completed their runs.
Wiles barely could make the tight final left-hand turn that tricked Monsen.
Romane Miradoli of France, who did complete her run as the second to start, said visibility was an issue with snow falling.
“You can't see," Miradoli said, "and it's bumpy everywhere.”
Asked if it was dangerous, Miradoli added, "We just couldn’t see well.”
Racing after Miradoli, Monsen crashed hard and slid 40 meters (yards) toward the finish line. The Norwegian team said she had no head injuries though "some pain in her knee" and will return home for more tests.
Vonn has had numerous crashes in her career. One of her worst was at the 2013 world championships in Schladming, Austria, during a super-G that was also held in difficult conditions. Vonn tore her right knee. She returned the following season, got hurt again and missed the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
The race started on Friday in a subdued mood in Crans-Montana which is coping with the trauma of a devastating fire in a bar in the early hours of New Year's Day that killed 40 people and injured more than 100. A minute's silence was observed before racing.
The finish area was stripped of color and the usual sponsor adverts. Instead, it was dressed with white and black banners featuring a ribbon with the words “Our thoughts are with you” written in French, German, Italian and English.
AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf contributed.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Norway's Marte Monsen crashes during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn grimaces as she approaches the finish area after crashing, during an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
United States' Lindsey Vonn approaches the finish area after crashing, during an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
United States' Lindsey Vonn holds her left knee after crashing, during an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish area after crashing, during an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Alessandro Della Valle/Keystone via AP)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
United States' Lindsey Vonn ahead of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
