SINGAPORE PERSPECTIVE

Singapore, May 19, 2026. While Washington and Havana engage in fiery rhetoric — Cuba threatens 'bloodshed' in case of a US attack, the US sanctions Cuba's intelligence agency and its top officials — The Straits Times takes a different approach. The Singaporean daily sends a reporter to Havana and brings back Alejandro Benitez's story, a 28-year-old architecture student in his fourth year. He works at midnight, when the electricity returns for the first time in 15 hours. The clock is ticking: finish his assignment before the next power outage.

The US blockade on fuel, part of a pressure campaign that Havana fears may escalate into military intervention, has worsened a chronic energy crisis. Cubans face power cuts of up to 20 hours a day. In two months, the authorities have announced that only one tanker has arrived in four months, declaring diesel and fuel stocks depleted. The country's seven outdated power plants rely on backup generators, which are also running low.

The impact on higher education is well-documented. Since February 2026, the government has shifted university courses online to conserve electricity. However, online learning stalls due to erratic internet connections and frequent outages. Practical programs suffer the most: Alfredo Rodriguez, a design industrial professor and Benitez's partner, tells AFP that 'entire sections of the program simply haven't been taught because they require physical presence.' He adds, 'We can't expect the same from students when we know some have no electricity or internet.'

Shalia Garcia, 19, a second-year design industrial student, describes suspended or truncated classes, teachers sending schedules and due dates via message. Benitez, meanwhile, cooks on a charcoal fire and hasn't left his Punta Brava neighborhood since February. Public transportation is halted; students' social lives have come to a standstill. 'What kind of architect will I become?' he asks.

The Straits Times doesn't gloss over the geopolitical dimension: it mentions the 300 military drones Cuba allegedly acquired from Russia and Iran, US Treasury sanctions targeting the Intelligence Directorate, and Miguel Díaz-Canel's statements on Cuba's right to defend itself.