A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Cuba is working to restore its electricity supply after another islandwide blackout this weekend. Since early January, the Trump administration has shut off the flow of oil to Cuba in an attempt to pressure the Communist-run island into making significant political and economic concessions. Now, as the blockade drags on, everyday life is coming to a halt for nearly 10 million people. Patrick Oppmann joins us now from the island. He is an international correspondent and Havana bureau chief for CNN. Patrick, what are the conditions like on the island now?
PATRICK OPPMANN: It gets tougher by the day. You notice a change for the worse each day, and so that usually means that the power is off for longer. We haven't seen any gasoline available since last week. So if you're buying on the black market, it's getting more expensive - if you can find it. There are no gas stations really selling it at this point. So that has a trickle-down impact that you really see on every impact of life here.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And aside from food spoiling, medication is probably going bad, or at least that's in - a danger, right?
OPPMANN: All of those things. You know, if you're...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
OPPMANN: ...You go to a hospital right now, they usually work on generators, but they don't have any fuel. So you might have an operation without proper medication, without proper supplies and a doctor or a nurse holding up a cellphone light so they could see you if you went - you know, had an emergency in the nighttime. The biggest issue is when the power goes out, you really don't know now when it's going to come back on, if it's going to come back on.
MARTÍNEZ: When was the last confirmed oil ship into Cuba?
OPPMANN: According to Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, says it's been over three months. We knew there was a strategic reserve of some kind. The government has long prepared for contingencies and perhaps thought this was a possibility. But I don't think they ever thought, first, that Venezuela would be so taken off the map for Cuba.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
OPPMANN: There's really no relationship between these countries that had been the closest of allies anymore. And then the Trump administration would so effectively block oil coming from countries like Mexico, like Russia that had previously had helped and had sent donations or sold oil to Cuba. So at this point, no one is really inviting the wrath of the Trump administration by sending oil or selling oil to Cuba. And so Cuba feels very much isolated and on its own at this point.
MARTÍNEZ: Wondering if you've heard from Cubans about how they feel about what the Trump administration is doing.
OPPMANN: It really breaks on political spectrums. If you're someone who supports the government, you think that the Trump administration is kind of the manifestation of everything evil you've heard about the U.S. and capitalism. I've encountered plenty of Cubans who just say, get this over with, that they felt their entire lives living under Communist rule has kind of been a waste, and they haven't been able to do much with their lives. And they're listening very closely to what the Trump administration is saying, the ultimatums they've issued the Cuban government. And people have told me that if it's going to happen, let it happen now, and let's see what comes afterwards. It can only be better, is what they tell me.
MARTÍNEZ: Who is Washington talking to in Havana about this?
OPPMANN: So Marco Rubio is leading the negotiations, which is very important because as a Cuban American, he is someone who has spent his lifetime studying the Cuban government, studying its weak points, and he is someone who knows where to hit them. He's in conversations with Raul Castro's grandson, who's known as El Cangrejo, The Crab, and he's not someone who's ever given a speech here. He doesn't have a public figure, but what he is well known for here is being the head of a security for his grandfather. And so this is the way to have direct communication with Raul Castro.
Cuban officials say that their leadership is not up for discussion, and yet they continue to talk, and they continue to exchange messages. And you don't know if the Cubans are buying time or if they're really considering what Washington has to say and considering making a deal.
MARTÍNEZ: How long do you think Cuba can go on like this? How long can people in Cuba hold on?
OPPMANN: I think there are people who already are slipping into extreme poverty. There's no sign this is going to get better. The government here doesn't appear to be wanting to make major concessions. They're resisting that. That would be a betrayal of the revolution. And for the Trump administration, it's just a waiting game. It's check mate. The longer they wait, the worse it gets here, and they feel that one way or another, the Cuban government will come to them and agree to the terms they've set. And if not, then they have threatened a military option. They've - certainly keeping an eye on these protests. Will they get worse and worse, particularly as we get in the summer, it gets hotter and people are more frustrated? But at this point, you kind of feel that the Trump administration knows they have the Cubans exactly where they want them.
MARTÍNEZ: Patrick Oppmann is an international correspondent and Havana bureau chief for CNN. Patrick, thanks.
OPPMANN: Thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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