Italian Newspaper Il Manifesto Recognizes Cuba's Dire Straits: "On Its Last Breath"

The Italian newspaper Il Manifesto, traditionally a staunch supporter of the Cuban Revolution, released an eye-opening report from Havana on Wednesday, portraying Cuba as a nation in a severe crisis. The island is depicted as grappling with critical shortages of food, medicine, electricity, and water, with wages that are insufficient for survival, and massive youth emigration seen as the only hope for the future. This in-depth piece, penned by veteran correspondent Roberto Livi and titled "No Way Out: Cuba on Its Last Breath in Trump's Grip," was published in the International section of the November 4 edition.

The significance of this publication is hard to overstate, given Il Manifesto's historical ties to the ideals of the Cuban Revolution. Founded in 1969 by dissidents from Italy's communist left, the newspaper has long identified as a "communist daily." Livi, who has lived in Cojímar since 2009, has spent years reporting from Cuba, often attributing the island's hardships primarily to the U.S. embargo. In October 2026, Il Manifesto even hosted a solidarity meeting in Italy with Cuba, featuring both Livi and former Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto.

Intriguingly, the article highlights a quote from Donald Trump: "It won't last long, everything will end within my term." The AI-generated summary available without subscription paints a bleak picture of Cuba, where "the lack of food, medicines, electricity, and water forces the population to endure inhumane conditions, as unsustainable wages make emigration the only hope for youth."

The report provides stark figures to substantiate its claims. In May 2026, Cuba's electricity generation deficit reached an unprecedented 2,174 megawatts, with September seeing 23 out of 28 days with deficits exceeding 2,000 MW. Water supply issues affect more than 2.68 million Cubans, 66% of whom suffer due to power shortages. Inflation hit 25.19% in August, and the Food Monitor Program reported that 33.9% of Cuban households suffer from persistent hunger. Only 30% of essential medications—about 190 out of 651 drugs—are currently available.

The emigration statistics are equally alarming: in 2025 alone, Cuba lost over 313,000 residents, with more than 1.6 million having left since 2020. Half of the emigrants are under 35. Journalist Jon Lee Anderson remarked at the Internazionale festival in Ferrara in October that the current Cuban crisis is "perhaps worse" than the Special Period in the 1990s, with nearly 20% of the population having left the island since 2021.

Livi's report emerges at a time when the Cuban regime is increasingly isolated. On October 28, the UN approved a resolution against the U.S. embargo on Cuba for the 34th consecutive year, but with only 130 votes in favor, compared to 165 in 2025. Notably, Italy abstained for the first time in 34 years, citing that "Cuba's crisis also stems from Cuban government decisions, structural problems, restrictions on political and economic freedoms, and systemic inefficiencies."

Meanwhile, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla attended the Ibero-American Summit in Madrid, condemning Trump's policies as "collective punishment" against Cuba, a stark contrast to the assessment published in Rome by a paper once considered a faithful media ally of the regime.

Days before, Trump had asserted in a recorded interview in Florida that change in Cuba would come before his term ends, mentioning Marco Rubio as a key figure involved and suggesting that Cuba might face a scenario similar to Venezuela's recent history.