In the case of Cuba’s provincial newspapers, they will stop circulating in print due to the energy crisis.
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, February 28, 2026 / The Cuban Government’s ‘officialist’ newspapers, including Granma, will now be printed only once a week, and the publication on paper of provincial state newspapers is being completely suspended due to the unprecedented energy crisis affecting the Island, a hard blow to the propaganda machinery of the Havana regime.
The state-run Cuban media themselves reported this Saturday on the decision, adopted by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, which cited as justification “the tightening of the blockade by the United States Government.”
The announcement explains that the newspapers Granma, the official organ of the Communist Party, and Juventud Rebelde will be printed and distributed, in an eight-page format, only on Tuesdays, starting next week.
In addition, the regional newspapers, already limited in frequency, will “stop being printed” for the time being. Each of Cuba’s 14 provinces has its own state-run regional print publication.
The regional newspapers, already limited in frequency, will “stop being printed” for the time being.
The impact of the current crisis “on fuel availability” is the main argument authorities have put forward for this cutback. The shortage of oil not only affects the printing of newspapers but also their transportation to distribution centers and newsstands throughout the country.
Something similar has happened with several provincial radio stations that have had to go off the air or modify their programming due to the prolonged daily blackouts, which hinder and damage station equipment and have made their operations unsustainable. Such is the case of Radio Sancti Spíritus and Radio Ángulo.
The situation in Cuba has deteriorated significantly in recent weeks following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the United States Government and the threat of tariffs on countries that supply oil to the Havana regime. However, the energy crisis had been worsening even before that. President Miguel Díaz-Canel himself acknowledged on February 5 that the country had not received oil since December.
The starting point was already worrying, as the Island had been enduring six years of a severe economic crisis, with a cumulative loss of more than 15% of its gross domestic product and more than 20% of its population.
Currently, gas stations are practically out of fuel; hospitals are suspending basic treatments and operating at minimal capacity; public transportation has essentially disappeared; garbage is piling up in the streets due to a lack of fuel for trucks, and food prices are skyrocketing.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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