Beginning his remarks yesterday evening, during another appearance on Cuban television, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez thanked the Cuban people for their support of government measures, contributions, and solidarity amidst the country’s tense energy situation, which, he said, are much more important that a tanker of diesel.

There are difficulties, he acknowledged, which have been explained, but not alarm. The difficulties are short-term and are not the result of negligence or improvisation.

We have been aware of possible crises, foreseen even before the escalation of imperial aggression, he said.

Alejandro Gil Fernández, Minister of Economy and Planning, said that the Council of Ministers reviewed progress made in implementing measures and seeking more options. “Cuba is not paralyzed, and neither is the search for solutions. You are working proactively to find the right balance of resource allocation in the main sectors of the economy.”

He added that it was decided that social activities such as education, health, child care centers, the most productive activities related to food, public transport, and others will remain prioritized. While activity levels may be reduced, the country continues to function.

Regarding concerns about possible blackouts, Raúl García Barreiro, minister of Energy and Mines, said that work is being done to prevent outages, but if there are generation problems and power cuts are necessary, they will be scheduled and announced.He said that there have been problems with gasoline, although by the end of the month the supply will be guaranteed to service stations. The private sector will not be affected.

Public Health Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda and Transport Minister Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila also participated in the program.