One Cuban family navigates daily life under a US oil embargo and a deepening economic crisis

HAVANA (AP) — Yuneisy Riviaux grew up in a working-class Havana neighborhood and has endured a life of hardship, but she never imagined a day would come when she and her little girls would go without lunch.

The 42-year-old unemployed mother of two lives in Havana with several other families in a house where the second floor collapsed years ago.

“Things have been going very, very badly for me,” Riviaux said as she played with her 2-year-old daughter, Seinet. “Some days I manage to get food.”

“But other times I can’t — like right now, when I have to bite my lip and swallow my tears because I don’t have lunch for the girls.”

The deepening economic crisis that has gripped Cuba for the past six years — intensified by the energy embargo enacted under U.S. President Donald Trump — continues to disproportionately affect the island’s most vulnerable. Persistent blackouts, cuts to the state-run food ration system, and severe shortages of water and medicine have transformed daily life into an ordeal for people like Riviaux, her husband Cristóbal Estrada and their two daughters.

A few hours earlier, the 61-year-old Estrada had made breakfast for 7-year-old Edianet: a piece of bread, distributed to all Cubans through the ration book system, with a tiny pat of butter — a luxury a tourist gave the family while wandering through the neighborhood.

After dropping Edianet off at school, Estrada set out for Cotorro, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away, to get food and money relatives there had offered. During the last nationwide blackout on March 21, all the food his family had in their refrigerator spoiled.

“He has to see if he can find a ride, a bus or whatever it takes to get there,” Riviaux said.

Public transportation in Cuba has been semi-paralyzed because of gasoline shortages since the United States imposed an oil embargo on the island following the January attack on Venezuela — a key oil supplier that stopped making shipments to the island, which produces barely 40% of the crude oil it needs.

That led to islandwide blackouts that have roiled Cubans, who have grappled with years of crisis; the lack of gasoline and basic resources has crippled hospitals and led to soaring prices and food shortages.

For years, Mexico also sent oil to Cuba as the island struggled with a decades-long energy crisis, but it halted the shipments under the threat of U.S. tariffs, and now only sends humanitarian aid.

On Tuesday, a Russian tanker docked at the Cuban port of Matanzas with 730,000 barrels of oil after the Trump administration let it proceed despite the U.S. energy blockade — marking the first time in three months that an oil delivery reached the island. But that will provide only enough diesel for about nine or 10 days of the island's needs, experts say.

Riviaux and Estrada used to have a small stall outside their house where they sold powdered drinks and simple packaged foods.

But in February, Estrada fell ill and was hospitalized with a collapsed lung. The cost of his treatment was devastating; the couple was forced to spend their savings on medicine bought on the black market because state-subsidized pharmacies had none.

“We had to sacrifice that business to buy the medicine and save his life,” Riviaux said.

Now Riviaux sells sweet pastries her sister bakes whenever they can get a bag of flour — which isn't provided by the meager monthly rations, which include rice, beans, sugar, cooking oil, coffee and a daily bread roll.

Cuba's once-lauded universal health care system has so deteriorated that it struggles to provide basic care. Hospitals face a critical backlog, with some 96,000 surgeries pending, including 11,000 for children, according to local authorities and the United Nations.

Nearly 5 million people with chronic illnesses lack access to essential medications, while life-saving treatments like radiation treatments for cancer and dialysis for kidney disease have been interrupted for 16,000 and 2,800 patients, respectively.

The United Nations launched a $94 million emergency plan this week to support what it called a “life-threatening” crisis for Cubans. According to Francisco Pichón, resident coordinator of the U.N. in Cuba, the appeal comes after a long history of Cuba leading Latin America in maternal health and vaccination rates — successes now at grave risk.

By midday, her husband still hadn’t returned, so Riviaux had no choice but to give her 2-year-old a piece of bread and the last of the family's milk — a donation from Mexico. Riviaux herself went without. Her 7-year-old still gets a free lunch at school, where classes continue despite the national crisis.

Riviaux speaks with nostalgia about the time before the COVID-19 pandemic, when, she said, “Cuba had everything.”

“I know the pandemic hit the whole world, but it hit us much harder,” she said.

The ration book each family received before the pandemic contained rice, beans, a liter of milk daily for children, sugar, oil, chicken and ground meat, among some 30 food items and hygiene products. It was only enough to last about 20 days, so families supplemented with purchased in privately run stores using a currency pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Stricter U.S. sanctions, which began under the first Trump administration, along with a collapse in tourism triggered by the pandemic and Cuba’s failed economic policies, led to a deep recession.

Cuba’s gross domestic product has plummeted by 15% over the last six years, triggering a historic exodus. The island lost more than 1 million inhabitants — roughly 10% of its population — in 2024 alone.

Emboldened by the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump has gradually escalated his rhetoric on Cuba, first suggesting he would pursue “a friendly takeover” of the country and more recently telling conservative allies from Latin America that he would “take care” of Cuba once the war with Iran winds down.

Riviaux admitted that while she tries to stay out of politics, the harshness of Trump’s rhetoric has left her deeply unsettled.

“We heard the news that Trump wanted to take over. What will happen if the U.S. gets involved?” she asked as her husband arrived late in the afternoon.

He brought plantains, chicken and enough cash to secure a kilo (about 2 pounds) of rice from a neighbor’s stall — a small relief in an uncertain week.

Associated Press journalist Milexsy Durán in Havana contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Yuneisy Riviaux helps her daughter Seinet to reach for a banana from a friend at their home in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Yuneisy Riviaux prepares dinner in her kitchen in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Yuneisy Riviaux helps her daughter Edianet with her homework at home in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cristobal Estrada, left, sends his daughter Edianet, center, with a bag of rice to their home in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Edianet, left, and her sister Seinet, center, play with a friend at their home in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Yuneisy Riviaux sells pastries in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Tottenham, a top English club threatened by relegation from the Premier League, hired Roberto De Zerbi as its manager on Tuesday despite opposition to the appointment from fans’ groups because of the Italian’s past support of a player who was charged with offenses including attempted rape.

De Zerbi replaced Igor Tudor, who was fired on Sunday after 44 days of an interim coaching spell that worsened Tottenham’s plight in the Premier League.

Spurs, the reigning Europa League champions and ever-presents in England’s top division since 1978, are one point above the relegation zone with seven games left.

De Zerbi previously worked in the Premier League as Brighton’s manager and was most recently at Marseille, which he left in February after a disagreement with the French club’s leadership.

While at Marseille, De Zerbi coached former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood, who was charged in October 2022 with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behavior, and assault after images and videos were posted online.

British prosecutors dropped the charges in February 2023 owing to a “combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses” and due to “no realistic prospect of conviction.”

During their time together at Marseille, De Zerbi described Greenwood as a “good guy” who “paid dearly for what happened,” adding: “I regret what happened in his life because I know someone different from what’s being described, especially in England.”

Women of the Lane, a Tottenham-affiliated women’s supporters’ group, questioned De Zerbi’s “judgment and leadership” because of the way he “publicly defended Mason Greenwood in a way that downplays the seriousness of male violence against women and girls” and said it was “not an appointment Tottenham Hotspur should make.”

Proud Lilywhites, Tottenham’s LGBTQI supporter group, also has objected to De Zerbi’s arrival, saying the decision to appoint a coach “isn’t just about results or style of football. It’s about values, identity, and the kind of people we choose to represent us.”

“When someone in that position publicly defends a player like Mason Greenwood, and frames it in a way that downplays the seriousness of what happened, it matters, not just in isolation but in what it signals,” the group said.

Spurs Reach, the club’s official race, ethnicity and cultural heritage fans’ group, said De Zerbi’s “public remarks defending and contextualizing” Greenwood “risks normalizing harmful attitudes, diminishing the experiences of survivors and sending a deeply concerning message about what is tolerated within the game.”

De Zerbi, who has signed what Tottenham said was a “long-term contract," is a coach known for playing an attacking, high-risk, complex style of soccer, making it something of a bold appointment by club whose top-flight status on the line.

He is a well-respected tactician — doing admirably at Sassuolo in Italy and then at Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk, which he left in 2022 following Russia’s invasion — but is known to have a combustible edge to him.

“Our short-term priority is to climb the Premier League table, which will be the complete focus until the final whistle of the last game of the season,” De Zerbi said in a statement by Tottenham.

Tottenham didn’t specify but British media reported his contract is for five years and does not include a relegation clause.

“Roberto was our No. 1 target for the summer,” Spurs sporting director Johan Lange said, “and we are very pleased to be able to bring him in now.”

De Zerbi takes over a club that is one of the biggest in England and reached the Champions League’s round of 16 this season, losing over two legs to Atletico Madrid.

However, Tottenham’s Premier League form has been woeful over the last two seasons. In the 2024-25 campaign, Spurs finished in 17th place — one above the relegation zone — though that was partially due to focusing on the Europa League as they surged to the title.

This season, Tottenham hasn’t won a league game in 2026 and is coming off a 3-0 home loss to relegation rival Nottingham Forest before the international break.

Thomas Frank started the season as Tottenham’s manager before getting fired on Feb. 11. His replacement, Tudor, lasted just seven matches — losing five of them — before losing his job on Sunday to end his nightmarish month and a half in charge.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Nottingham Forest's Murillo celebrates after the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest in London, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Tottenham Hotspur's Richarlison appears dejected after his side concede a second goal, during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, in London, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

Tottenham fans leave the stadium after their team conceded a third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest in London, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

FILE - Marseille's head coach Roberto De Zerbi gives instructions during the French League One soccer match between Paris FC and Marseille in Paris, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)