Cuba in 2026 is facing one of the most severe crises in its recent history. Life now is marked by 20–24 hour blackouts, extreme shortages of food and medicine, soaring inflation, and a dramatic collapse of fuel supplies. Only one fuel tanker arrived between December 2025 and April 2026, leaving entire provinces without electricity for days at a time. As a result, families struggle to cook, refrigerate food, pump water, or access medical care. Friends on the island report searching endlessly for basic items like rice, oil, soap, and toothpaste, and facing medical conditions that become fatal simply because medicine, transportation, and electricity are unavailable.
More than 1.5 million people have emigrated since 2021, and Cuba may lose up to 10% of its population this year. Political gestures—such as the release of some prisoners and renewed conversations with the United States—have not eased the humanitarian emergency, which has been intensified by the regional fallout from American actions in Venezuela and by ongoing financial restrictions.
Since December, we have been unable to receive online donations designated for Cuba, leaving Cuba Yearly Meeting—almost entirely dependent on FUM’s support—in a vulnerable position. Even so, FUM continues to accompany Cuban Friends by collecting and shipping hygiene items, food, medicines, and emergency supplies by boat, a slow but vital lifeline.
In this critical moment, as Cuba Yearly Meeting grows in faith and numbers despite immense hardship, Friends around the world are called to stand in Christian solidarity with Cuban Friends. Maintaining this solidarity will require creativity and perseverance, as we seek to support Friends at the center of this humanitarian crisis. If you would like to learn more about the realities Cuban Friends are facing, and how the FUM community is responding, register here to attend the Encourage One Another Zoom presentation, on Thursday, June 25, at noon.
Pacific Time (PT): 9:00 AM
Mountain Time (MT): 10:00 AM
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Palestine Time (EET, UTC+2): 7:00 PM
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