Washington has put a conditional $100 million offer on the table for Havana even as a US-led oil blockade leaves Cuba without diesel or fuel oil and triggers island-wide power cuts.

Aid offer meets energy collapse

US President Donald Trump has labelled Cuba "a failed nation" as his administration simultaneously offers the island $100 million in aid contingent on political reforms. Cuba's government said it remains unclear whether the offer would arrive as cash or assistance in-kind.

The offer lands against a backdrop of acute energy collapse. Cuba's energy minister said the country has run out of diesel and fuel oil, describing the situation as "extremely tense." A US-led blockade on oil shipments to the island has caused widespread blackouts and left small private businesses struggling to operate.

Washington frames Cuba's leadership as the obstacle

The Trump administration has placed responsibility for the humanitarian toll squarely on Havana, saying Cuba's communist leadership is "standing in the way" of any relief. Trump himself escalated the rhetoric by publicly calling Cuba a failed state as his administration widens its pressure campaign.

The latest measures include new sanctions targeting a military-controlled conglomerate. United Nations experts have warned the effective fuel blockade amounts to "energy starvation." Cuba's government condemned the sanctions as "illegal," "abusive," and "collective punishment of the Cuban people."

Senate vote and military threat

The US Senate has blocked a bid that would have restricted Trump from using military force against Cuba. Senator Tim Kaine, who backed the measure, said that if any country did to the United States "what we are doing to Cuba," it would be considered "an act of war."

Talks, but no breakthrough

Cuba's Foreign Ministry confirmed that officials from both sides met on the island in recent weeks, describing the exchange as "respectful and professional" and free of threats. Havana said its central demand remains the lifting of the energy blockade. No agreement has been announced.

The Cuban government's May Day march, held as Washington announced a further round of sanctions, drew crowds in Havana as the island entered what organisers called "a year of resistance."