The sudden extraction of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. special forces has sent shockwaves across the Latin America, leaving the Cuban government in its most precarious position since the fall of the Soviet Union. President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s immediate calls for “blood and life” to defend the revolution underscore a grim reality: without its primary benefactor, the island’s already crippled economy faces total collapse. For decades, the “doctors-for-oil” swap provided nearly 100,000 barrels of crude daily, a flow that had already dwindled to 35,000 barrels amid recent naval blockades. With Maduro now awaiting trial in a Manhattan federal court and the U.S. asserting control over Venezuelan oil reserves, that lifeline is effectively severed, threatening to plunge Cuba into permanent blackouts and widespread famine.
The humanitarian fallout is already visible, with a fifth of the population lacking reliable drinking water and garbage going uncollected in streets once hailed as models of public health. U.S. officials have capitalized on this vulnerability, suggesting that the regime in Havana is weakening without the need for direct military intervention. The deaths of 32 Cuban security personnel during the raid in Caracas further emphasize the deep-rooted military and intelligence ties that have now become a liability. As long-term allies like Mexico and Russia scale back their own shipments to avoid political friction with Washington, Cuba is left with no clear benefactor to pay its bills, signaling a historic and potentially terminal turning point for the island’s socialist experiment.
