🗑️ Garbage is piling up in Havana as Cuba’s fuel shortages keep many waste-collection trucks off the road, heightening concerns about sanitation and disease risks in crowded neighborhoods 1235. Several outlets say fewer than half of the city’s rubbish trucks are running, disrupting regular pickup and forcing residents to navigate growing heaps of trash 32.
Coverage links the fuel crunch to strained supplies and Cuba’s broader economic troubles. Some reports also highlight the role of US sanctions, describing US policy as a “chokehold” or “blockade” that affects access to fuel 235.
Sources
- Cuba: Fuel shortage creates garbage crisis [dw.com] (2026-02-17)
- Garbage piles up in Havana as fuel shortages hit waste collection amid US sanctions [firstpost.com] (2026-02-17)
- Cuba’s Havana piles with rubbish as US chokehold halts garbage trucks [straitstimes.com] (2026-02-16)
- Cuba's Havana piles with trash as US chokehold halts garbage trucks [reddit.com] (2026-02-16)
- Waste piles up in Cuba as US-imposed fuel blockade halts collection trucks [aljazeera.com] (2026-02-17)
Highlights
- Truck availability: Fuel shortages left only 44 of Havana’s 106 rubbish trucks able to keep operating 3.
- Health concerns: As waste accumulates, residents worry about more pests and potential disease risks 12.
- Supply pressures: Reports tie the shortfall to reduced oil shipments, with knock-on effects on city services like garbage collection 2.
- US-Cuba tensions: Some coverage links the disruption to tighter US sanctions, and Al Jazeera notes President Donald Trump publicly criticized Cuba 5.
Perspectives
Cuban residents: In hard-hit neighborhoods, residents are dealing with worsening sanitation as trash pickup slows, along with worries about health risks from uncollected waste 1.
US government (President Donald Trump): Al Jazeera reports President Trump called Cuba a “failed nation,” in coverage that also discusses US pressure affecting fuel access 5.
International media framing: Some outlets describe US policy as a “chokehold” or “blockade,” presenting the garbage buildup as a downstream effect of limits on Cuba’s fuel access 3.