{"id":197299,"date":"2026-03-19T02:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T02:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/197299\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T02:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T02:45:07","slug":"crisis-in-cuba-how-um-students-are-feeling-the-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/197299\/","title":{"rendered":"Crisis in Cuba: How UM students are feeling the impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Map of Cuba showing the lines of the Cuba Railroad. \/\/ Photo via Wikimedia Commons. The Matthews-Northrup Co. Published in “Cuba and the Cuba Railroad.”<\/p>\n

Cuba, an island 90 miles off the coast of Miami, is experiencing a worsening economic and energy crisis. Prolonged power outages, fuel shortages and rising food prices, tied in part to policies from Donald Trump\u2019s administration, are affecting families on the island and students in Miami who remain closely linked to relatives there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The island has faced economic and energy challenges for decades. After the Cuban Revolution<\/a>, the island adopted a state-controlled economy and became heavily dependent on support from the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba entered a severe economic crisis known as the \u201cSpecial Period<\/a>,\u201d marked by widespread shortages of food, fuel and electricity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conditions improved slightly in the 2000s with oil support from Venezuela. But as of mid March, U.S intervention in Venezuela has exacerbated issues for Cuba. With efforts to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro<\/a>, a blockade of Venezuelan oil and threats of tariffs on Mexico, the Trump administration effectively shut off oil flow to Cuba \u2014 aiming to push the communist-run island toward political and economic reforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With few allies to turn to, Cuba is running out of resources. As the crisis drags on, life in Cuba is slowly coming to a halt as schools are being shut down and businesses having to stop operating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been a perfect storm,\u201d said Michael J. Bustamante, director of Cuban Studies and of the Cuban Heritage Collection at UM. \u201cMore and more Cuban citizens do not accept the argument that their problems can be laid at the feet of U.S. sanctions alone. Cubans [are] speaking out openly about their desire for not just economic improvement, but political change.\u201d<\/p>\n

As possible governmental changes loom over Cuba, students and faculty at the University of Miami, many with family on the island are closely following the unfolding crisis that, for them, is far from distant news.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of us may see reason for great hope that positive change is finally on the horizon,\u201d said Bustamante. \u201cOthers may worry rumors of negotiations between the current U.S. administration and the Cuban government will have unsatisfying results. Either way, the situation impacts all of us personally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For students with relatives still living in Cuba, that sense of hope is tied to the possibility of reconnecting with relatives and seeing an island they have only heard about.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a higher chance of meeting family members that I have never met before, said Lazaro Chavez, a senior at the University of Miami. \u201cMy father\u2019s mother still lives on the island and her business has been struggling for decades but the situation has worsened things along with her aligning health.\u201d<\/p>\n

The developments mark a potential turning point after years of economic hardship and political uncertainty on the island. For students with family ties to Cuba, even a small sign of change can spark optimism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNow more than ever it feels like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel,\u201d said Jessica Valdes, a senior at UM.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those aspirations, however, also raises concerns for relatives and the communities currently on the island having to navigate daily shortages and instability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on what we\u2019re hearing from family and friends in Cuba, there\u2019s no power and no running water,\u201d said Valdes. \u201cIt\u2019s like being homeless here, except you just have four walls around you \u2014 and even those walls are rotting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the impact the unrest has on\u00a0 individuals, the unfolding events on the island can have broader implications to Florida and the U.S. Changes in Cuba can influence migration patterns, economic opportunity and relations with the Cuban diaspora in South Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happens in Cuba will have significant ripple effects in the United States, and especially in South Florida, whether in terms of renewed migration or potential opportunities for greater economic integration and trade,\u201d said Bustamante. \u201cThe Cuban diaspora in South Florida represents a significant resource of capital and Cuba\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miami offers a unique perspective on Cuba\u2019s history and ongoing struggles. The city\u2019s large Cuban community means that residents, whether they are of Cuban descent or not,\u00a0<\/p>\n

feel the impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMiami almost feels like its own part of the country, said Chavez. \u201cThings that fly here certainly wouldn\u2019t fly in the Midwest or LA or NY, and when everyone around you has experienced or someone they know has experienced oppression at the hands of the regime so it is a very different experience than someone would have if they\u2019re from Kansas for example. It\u2019s a much deeper history.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For UM students, the crisis is more than just news, it is personal, intertwined with family, heritage and identity. Despite the uncertainty and challenges on the island, many hold onto hope for a brighter future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope and pray for the people of Cuba and for their long awaited freedom and end to their suffering,\u201d said Emma Balleste, a junior at UM.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that one day Cuba will change and I\u2019ll be able to visit the island of my family, my culture, and my identity,\u201d Valdes added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Cuba continues to navigate these uncertain times and affect the daily lives of families on and off the island, many hold onto hope that political or economic changes could bring new opportunities for the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Map of Cuba showing the lines of the Cuba Railroad. \/\/ Photo via Wikimedia Commons. The Matthews-Northrup Co.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197300,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":{"0":"post-197299","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-miami","9":"tag-miami-headlines","10":"tag-miami-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}