Danny Shaw, a professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) and a vocal supporter of the Cuban regime, inadvertently highlighted a glaring contradiction in pro-regime rhetoric. In a video posted on X from Cuba, Shaw openly admitted that he can only travel across the island because he possesses dollars.
While traveling in a cargo truck between Las Tunas and Bayamo, Shaw described the transportation conditions, noting the hours spent waiting on the road as part of the "typical transportation" in Cuba.
The academic wrote, "Most Cubans have little to no mobility. I can only travel around Cuba because I have dollars."
Shaw also pointed out that a liter of gasoline in Cuba currently costs 6,000 pesos, equivalent to 12 US dollars, a price that amounts to three months' salary for many Cubans.
This fact aligns with the severe fuel crisis gripping the island. The black market price for a liter of gas surged from between 700 and 1,500 pesos in January 2026 to the current 6,000 pesos, while the average monthly salary in Cuba in 2025 was merely 6,930 pesos, roughly 13 to 15 dollars at the informal exchange rate.
Shaw's unintentional revelation underscores the divide between foreign visitors with hard currency and the Cuban population, which is ensnared by the ongoing crisis.
In Santiago de Cuba, for instance, lines of up to 24 hours have been reported for a maximum of 20 liters of gasoline at state-run stations.
The Root of Cuba's Energy Crisis
The energy crisis Shaw documented is due to structural issues that he failed to address. Venezuelan oil supplies, a crucial source for the island, were cut off in December 2025, and Mexico's Pemex halted shipments on January 9, 2026, exacerbating a shortage the regime has been unable to rectify.
Instead of holding the Cuban government accountable, Shaw attributed the mobility crisis to the "Trump administration's war against Cuba," overlooking decades of economic mismanagement and energy dependency.
In January 2026, Shaw defended Cuban elections as "genuine participatory democracy" on X and labeled the July 11, 2021 protests as "USAID-funded agitation."
Similarly, in April 2026, he co-signed a letter with 150 other academics demanding an end to the embargo, which was published in Cuba's official newspaper, Granma.
The irony of his post was not lost: a regime advocate traversing the island in cargo trucks with his American dollars, while describing the paralysis ordinary Cubans endure.
As Shaw noted in his video, "Crossing the country definitely hasn't been easy."
In April 2026, Francisco Pichón, the UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba, described the energy crisis as having a "systemic and increasingly significant impact" on the island's transportation and telecommunications, a reality Shaw inadvertently captured with his own camera.
Understanding Cuba's Transportation Challenges
Why is gasoline so expensive in Cuba?
Gasoline prices in Cuba have skyrocketed due to a severe fuel crisis, worsened by the cessation of Venezuelan oil supplies and halted shipments from Mexico's Pemex, leading to reliance on the black market.
How does the energy crisis affect daily life in Cuba?
The energy crisis in Cuba has a profound impact on transportation, leading to long queues for gasoline and limited mobility, as well as affecting telecommunications and other infrastructure.