Business & Economics
Nico López Refinery Blaze Quickly Contained Amid Cuba’s Post-Maduro Fuel Crunch
A 13 Feb 2026 warehouse fire at Havana’s Nico López oil refinery was brought under control within hours, sparing critical infrastructure even as the island endures a U.S.-enforced halt to Venezuelan crude supplies.
Focusing Facts
- Cuba’s Energy & Mines Ministry reported the fire erupted 13 Feb 2026 in a storage warehouse and was extinguished the same day with zero casualties and no impact on refinery operations.
- Cuba lost roughly 35,000 barrels-per-day Venezuelan oil imports after the 3 Jan 2026 U.S. seizure of Nicolás Maduro and associated tankers, leaving the island without foreign fuel shipments for “weeks.”
- On 12 Feb 2026 two Mexican Navy vessels delivered over 800 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Havana Harbor, underscoring the severity of the shortages.
Context
Warehouse fires at refineries are not new—Texas City’s 1947 disaster showed how a spark near stored product can cripple an already-strained industry—but the political backdrop here recalls the 1960–62 U.S. embargo that pushed Cuba to rely on Soviet oil. Today’s crunch stems from Washington’s 2026 interdiction of Venezuelan crude—an echo of the 1985–90 “special period” when the USSR’s collapse slashed deliveries, triggering blackouts and food shortages. This incident reveals two longer arcs: first, the vulnerability of mono-supplier energy dependencies in small economies; second, the recurring use of energy blockades as geopolitical leverage from the 1917 Allied coal embargo on Germany to the 1973 Arab oil embargo. A minor, quickly-managed fire would normally be a footnote, yet under current scarcity even the risk of damage rattles supply security and accentuates humanitarian pressure visible in Mexico’s aid shipment and UN warnings. Whether it catalyzes policy change or deepens siege mentality will shape Cuba’s energy paradigm over the coming decades; on a century scale, it is another data point in the enduring contest between sanctions regimes and the resilience—or eventual transformation—of the targeted state.
Perspectives
International outlets critical of US sanctions
e.g., Al Jazeera, TRT World — They portray the refinery blaze as another blow to Cuba’s energy system already crippled by what they call a de-facto US oil blockade following Washington’s seizure of Venezuelan crude. By centering blame on the United States, these stories largely gloss over Havana’s long-standing economic mismanagement and highlight humanitarian angles that fit the outlets’ frequent critiques of Western foreign policy.
US right-leaning media
e.g., Washington Examiner — The fire is reported in the context of President Trump’s hard-line strategy to starve the Cuban regime of Venezuelan oil, casting the pressure campaign as part of a broader effort to counter Havana’s communist government. Coverage tends to treat the coercive measures and even floated military options as credible policy tools while skimming over civilian hardship or legal ramifications, reflecting a hawkish ideological bent.
Cuban state media
e.g., ACN — Official reports stress that the blaze was quickly extinguished, operations continue as normal, and no one was hurt, presenting the incident as minor and fully under control. State outlets seek to project competence and calm, downplaying both the severity of the fire and the broader fuel emergency to avoid undermining public confidence in the government.