HAVANA (AP) — An impromptu sit-in protest at the steps of Havana University on Monday drew a small group of students concerned about their education amid an energy crisis worsened by a U.S. oil blockade of the island, which has reduced classes and is paralyzing the country.
Power outages and transportation shutdowns have forced the university to reduce the number of classes or hold them online, though many students are also struggling with slow and unreliable internet.
“We aren’t martyrs for any side; we are university students. So, none of us intended to be here, but there has been no other way,” said one of protesters, who didn’t want to be identified by name due to fear of government reprisals.
The First Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Modesto Ricardo Gómez, stepped out to speak to the students. He acknowledged the financial difficulties affecting higher education, and said they have been made worse by the current standoff with the Trump administration.
“Today we have been tremendously affected by the criminal and genocidal blockade of the United States government, which, without a thought for the people or our youth, is truly massacring an entire society,” Gomez said.
On the main streets of Havana, many people had to walk to work or go shopping Monday. Gasoline is rationed to 20 liters per car, and getting a fill-up involves an elaborate appointment process that can take weeks.
During a summit in Florida with conservative Latin American and Caribbean leaders Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will turn its attention to Cuba after the war with Iran and suggested his administration would cut a deal with Havana underscoring Washington’s increasingly aggressive stance against the island’s communist leadership.
“Great change will soon be coming to Cuba,” Trump said at the summit.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Saturday described the summit as “small, reactionary and neocolonial.”
Trump also said there are high-level talks happening between Cuba and the U.S. government.
The Cuban government hasn’t confirmed that meetings are happening.
The gathering in Florida, which the White House called the “Shield of the Americas” summit, came just two months after Trump ordered an audacious U.S. military operation to capture Venezuela’s then-president, Nicolás Maduro, ending Venezuela’s shipment of oil to Cuba.
Following the capture of Maduro, Trump signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that further crippled the island plagued by a deepening energy crisis.
Since then, no oil shipment has arrived in Cuba, which only produces one-third of its own energy needs.
Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Students gather outside the University of Havana during a protest over an energy crisis that has disrupted classes in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Students gather outside the University of Havana during a sit-in protest over an energy crisis that has disrupted classes in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A car rides past students sitting outside the University of Havana during a protest over an energy crisis that has disrupted classes in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Minkah Fitzpatrick is coming home and filling a major need for the New York Jets.
Demario Davis also is returning — for a third stint with the team — to help lead a suddenly revamped defense.
Fitzpatrick, a three-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl safety who is from New Jersey, is being acquired from the Miami Dolphins, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday. One of the people said New York will sign Fitzpatrick to a three-year, $40 million contract extension.
The Jets will send a seventh-round pick in this year's draft to the Dolphins in the deal, according to the people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade can’t become official until the start of the NFL’s new league year on Wednesday.
The deal, first reported by ESPN, should immediately help the Jets, who became the first team in NFL history to go an entire season without an interception.
The Jets further bolstered their defense, which ranked 31st in points allowed this past season, by agreeing to deals with Davis, defensive tackle David Onyemata and edge rushers Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare.
The 37-year-old Davis, a third-round pick of the Jets in 2012, is back on a two-year contract worth $22 million, with $15 million guaranteed, a person with knowledge of the deal told the AP. He spent the past eight seasons in New Orleans.
Onyemata is signing a one-year, $10.5 million deal that includes $9.7 million guaranteed, a person with knowledge of the contract told the AP.
Ossai agreed to a three-year, $36 million contract, with $22.5 million guaranteed, his agency, Athletes First, said on social media.
Enagbare joined the Jets on a one-year deal worth $10 million, a person with knowledge of the contract told the AP.
The 29-year-old Fitzpatrick, who had one year left on his contract with the Dolphins worth a non-guaranteed $15.6 million, was born in Old Bridge, New Jersey, and went to high school in Jersey City — about 25 miles from the Jets' training facility in Florham Park and less than 10 from MetLife Stadium, his new playing home.
It's the second major trade this offseason for the Jets, who are looking to upgrade their defense in coach Aaron Glenn's second season. New York acquired nose tackle T'Vondre Sweat from Tennessee for edge rusher Jermaine Johnson last month.
Glenn fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks with three games left in the season and hired Brian Duker in January to oversee the defense, but he said he would call the plays this coming season. Duker and new safeties coach Ryan Slowik both came from Miami's staff and have familiarity with Fitzpatrick.
Safety was an area the Jets were expected to address in free agency, with Malachi Moore — who was solid in 14 starts as a rookie — the only player on the roster with significant playing time. Andre Cisco and Tony Adams, both of whom have been starters, are set to be free agents.
Fitzpatrick has 21 career interceptions, although he had only one in 14 games this past season for the Dolphins.
He was the 11th overall pick by the Dolphins in 2018 out of Alabama, where he helped the Crimson Tide win two national titles. He was traded by Miami two games into his second season to Pittsburgh, where he became one of the top players at his position.
Fitzpatrick spent most of six seasons with the Steelers, making the All-Pro team three times while picking off 18 passes during that time. He became the NFL's highest-paid safety in 2022, when he signed a four-year, $73.6 million extension with the Steelers.
Fitzpatrick was traded back to the Dolphins last June, going to Miami along with a 2027 fifth-round pick for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, tight end Jonnu Smith and a 2027 seventh-rounder.
Davis, who is entering his 15th NFL season, played his four years for the Jets before signing with Cleveland in 2016. He returned to New York the following season before signing with New Orleans in 2018 and playing eight seasons for the Saints — including three with Glenn as the defensive backs coach.
Davis, who will assume a much-needed leadership role on New York’s defense, has more than 1,500 career tackles and 45 sacks. He was an All-Pro pick in 2019 and has been selected for two Pro Bowls.
“He's probably one of the best leaders that I've ever been around,” Glenn said of Davis before the Jets played the Saints in December. “Nothing but respect for him. I love the player and I love what he brings to the table. ... He's A1 in my book.”
Onyemata, a native of Nigeria who played his college ball in Canada, was a fourth-round pick of the Saints in 2016 and knows Glenn from his time in New Orleans. He played the past three years in Atlanta and has 31 career sacks and 401 tackles.
Ossai, also from Nigeria, had five sacks in each of the past two seasons for Cincinnati after being a third-round pick out of Texas in 2021. He had 14 1/2 sacks in 61 games, including 12 starts, for the Bengals.
Enagbare was a fifth-rounder out of South Carolina in 2022. He started 21 of the 68 games in which he played for the Packers and had 11 1/2 sacks, including a career-high 4 1/2 in 2024.
AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi and AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds and Alanis Thames contributed to this report.
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FILE - Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai (58) in action during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Nov. 27, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, file)
FILE - New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis works during the second half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik, file)
FILE - Miami Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick runs onto the field during player introductions before an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Nov. 9, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Doug Murray)
