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As Cuba faces power outages, food shortages and renewed protests, Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá warns in an interview with Fox News Digital that the ongoing crisis on the island will not be solved by economic reforms alone and urges the United States to keep up the pressure on the communist government in Havana.
The recent outages and shortages are linked to Cuba’s dire power and economic conditions.
The latest nationwide blackout was caused by the failure of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the island’s largest power station, to cut power to the rest of the country, according to Reuters. The crisis is compounded by fuel shortages after the Trump administration announced plans to cut oil exports to the island, particularly from Venezuela – one of Cuba’s biggest suppliers.
Cuban officials say U.S. sanctions have worsened the economy, while repeated power plant failures and an aging power grid have left millions facing prolonged power outages that have fueled public frustration and protests.
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The state-owned company blamed the US sanctions in an official statement, saying, “Without ending the financial embargo, there can be no permanent energy stability,” according to CubaHeadlines.
Rosa Maria Paya, daughter of the late Oswaldo Paya of Cuba, is seen during a tribute to her father in Santiago, Chile, on April 17, 2017. (Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)
The Trump administration has increased pressure on Cuba in recent months, tightening sanctions and targeting oil exports that help shore up the island’s energy system. These measures are part of a broader effort to weaken the Cuban government and support democratic reforms on the island.
“For President Trump, it is important that you know that the Cuban people are grateful for what this administration is doing and that we are ready, and we want to make Cuba beautiful again,” said Payá, speaking directly to him. “And that means the end of the Communist dictatorship, not just a new economy, but a new republic.”
His request comes as Cuba has resurfaced in Washington’s foreign policy debate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and one of the most prominent Cuban-American voices in US politics, has long advocated a strong stance toward Havana and strong support for the island’s pro-democracy movement.
The Trump administration has recently increased pressure on the Cuban government, including measures aimed at oil exports that help stabilize the island’s struggling energy sector.
Trump praised Rubio at a press conference on Tuesday and suggested he could play a key role in any potential negotiations with Havana.
“Marco Rubio is doing a great job,” Trump said. “I think he will go down as the greatest secretary of state in history. They trust Marco.”
“We want to work with President Trump and Secretary Rubio, the opposition is united,” said Payá. “We have a plan. It’s called the Freedom Accord,” he added, referring to the democratic reform framework promoted by the Cuban opposition. “We are ready to lead this program. The time is now, Mr.
Opposition groups have created the Freedom Accord, a political roadmap for a democratic transition, which they say will lead a transition away from the current system in Cuba.
Payá, 37, who escaped the country 13 years ago, has spent the last ten years advocating for the democratic revolution in Cuba.
She is the daughter of Oswaldo Payá, founder of the Christian Liberation Movement and creator of the Varela Project, a petition campaign in the early 2000s that collected more than 25,000 signatures demanding free elections and civil liberties in Cuba.
His father died in 2012 along with fellow activist Harold Cepero in what Payá described as an assassination by the Cuban regime. Cuban authorities said the men died in a car accident in eastern Cuba, but the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also concluded that there are “serious indications” that Cuban diplomats were involved in the deaths.
“After the Cuban regime killed my father … I have been trying to follow his legacy and many other Cubans on the island and in exile today who believe that we have a chance and real freedom,” he said, describing the organization that today includes activists on the island and in exile.
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Members of the “Ladies in White” opposition group march near the funeral of Oswaldo Paya, one of Cuba’s most prominent dissidents, in Havana, July 24, 2012. (Reuters)
The crisis inside Cuba has reached a point where basic survival has become a daily problem for many families, according to Payá.
“The situation today is that mothers do not know if they will be able to feed their child at night,” he said. “Most of the island has been experiencing power outages lasting many days and many times.” The island has experienced turmoil in recent years due to economic collapse and political repression.
The largest anti-government protests erupted on July 11, 2021, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets across the island chanting “freedom” in the largest protests since the 1959 revolution.
The authorities responded with mass arrests and prison sentences for many protesters.
For Payá, those protests reflected something deeper than economic frustration.
“The Cuban people have been fighting for freedom for 67 years,” he said. “We want political freedom, not just a new economy.”
Despite the comparison between the crisis in Cuba and the political turmoil in Venezuela, Payá says that the situation in Cuba is very different.
“The situation in Cuba is very different,” he said. “This is the longest communist dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere.”
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Cuban exiles block Palmetto Expressway at Coral Way in support of Cuba 2021 protesters in Miami. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via AP)
Although he stressed that the Cubans themselves must ultimately encourage political change, Payá said that international pressure is still important because of the regime’s ability to suppress the opposition.
His request comes as Cuba has resurfaced in Washington’s foreign policy debate.
Payá said the Cuban opposition hoped the United States would continue to support the island’s democratic reforms.
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Anabel Oliva, 20, speaks outside the University of Havana during a protest against the disruption of classes due to power and internet shortages, amid US sanctions and an oil embargo that have deepened the country’s crisis, in Havana, Cuba, March 9, 2026. (Norlys Perez/Reuters)
“I believe President Trump knows very well, better than anyone the difference between a real deal and a better deal,” she said. “You understand that this dictatorship must end.”
“To end this problem,” he added, “we need to end the state.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Rubio for comment and has not heard back.
Reuters contributed to this report.
