U.S. embargo, sanctions on Cuba impacting power supplies, access to medicine

October 16, 2026 / 1:03 PM EDT / CBS News

Havana, Cuba – Cubans are experiencing power blackouts and facing obstacles accessing medicine amid a strict U.S. embargo and sanctions that seek to put pressure on Cuba's Communist government.

The Trump administration has made it clear it wants to remove Cuba's regime. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the economic campaign is engineered to make the government feel like there are no escape valves, which is how people in Cuba describe feeling.

A strict U.S. embargo on oil imports has left the country's electrical grid in a state of near-collapse. Most places in Cuba, including Havana, receive only a few hours of electricity a day. Very often it's less than that.

The energy crisis coupled with crumbling infrastructure have sent prices of basic goods skyrocketing.

CBS News saw parents lining up for care at a children's hospital. But doctors in Cuba's once-renowned public health system say they can no longer source critical, lifesaving drugs for pediatric patients.

Some have turned to free, community-run pharmacies. Retiree Sara Emilia Marquez showed CBS News medicine that was donated after her monthly prescription started coming just once every three months, if at all. Others…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/