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[–><!–>Cuba is rapidly running out of fuel. For nearly three months, the United States has blocked any significant oil shipments from reaching the island, leaving an already struggling economy in a state of crisis. We asked Cubans how the fuel shortages have upended their lives.–><!–>
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–>19 Cubans on What It’s Like to Live Without Fuel<!–>
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[–><!–>In some parts of Cuba, life has simply come to a halt.–><!–>
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[–><!–>The first effective blockade since the Cuban missile crisis is pushing the Caribbean nation toward a humanitarian breaking point. As a result, Cubans are struggling to navigate the most basic aspects of daily life, from commuting to work to receiving medical care.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Even the arrival of a Russian oil tanker this week — the first allowed by the United States since the blockade began — will buy the island only a few weeks before fuel reserves run out, analysts say.–><!–>
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[–><!–>We wanted to know how these changes are affecting life in Cuba. In February, we asked people across the island to tell us.–><!–>
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<!–>Lia Rodríguez, 23 communications specialist–>
<!–>Arsenio García, 69 TV producer–>
<!–>Stock market investor, 56–>
<!–>Medical resident, 24–>
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<!–>Retiree, 67–>
<!–>Gustavo Torres, 25 art critic and historian–>
<!–>Gabriel Sánchez, 24 engineer–>
<!–>Yamil Orlando, 30 visual artist–>
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[–><!–>Hospitals are canceling surgeries and sending patients home because doctors and nurses can’t commute to work. Health care workers say that deteriorating conditions are causing deaths that would otherwise be preventable.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Rotting waste piles up on street corners unless it is burned. Nationwide blackouts have become the norm. Tourism, which has long been crucial to Cuba’s economy, has plummeted.–><!–>
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<!–>Leonardo, 19 student–>
<!–>José Enrique González, 29 tour guide–>
<!–>Alfonso de Jesús, 65 retiree–>
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<!–>Iván García, 60 journalist–>
<!–>Víctor Manuel, 27 musician–>
<!–>Claudia Terry, 22 art history graduate–>
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<!–>Stock market investor, 56–>
<!–>University professor, 26–>
<!–>Giraldo Benítez, 65 retired engineer–>
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<!–>Iván García, 60 journalist–>
<!–>A 28-year-old woman–>
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[–><!–>The Cuban government has acknowledged that it is in talks with the Trump administration about a possible deal to end the oil blockade, although Cuban officials have repeatedly denied that regime change is on the table.–><!–>
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[–><!–>U.S. officials are pushing for President Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba to step down. But several readers said they had little hope that their conditions would change quickly.–><!–>
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<!–>Yamil Orlando, 30 visual artist–>
<!–>Víctor Manuel, 27 musician–>
<!–>Claudia Terry, 22 art history graduate–>
<!–>Francisco Delgado, 60 former employee of a tourism company–>
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<!–>Roberto Blanco, 82 retiree–>
<!–>Lia Rodríguez, 23, communications specialist–>
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<!–>Lia Rodríguez, 23 communications specialist–>
<!–>Giraldo Benítez, 65 retired engineer–>
<!–>Gustavo Torres, 25 art critic and historian–>
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