BBC LatAm reports: In January 2026, the Trump administration enforced an oil and fuel blockade on Cuba, triggering severe energy shortages and widespread blackouts that have especially impacted vulnerable populations, such as expectant mothers. The shortages of food, milk, and essential medicines are straining maternal care services, making pregnancies more difficult and uncertain. The BBC's Will Grant spoke to two expectant mothers facing starkly different realities as the energy crisis unfolds.
Read more about the fuel blockade on Cuba here. The Dutch foreign ministry confirmed that a British, German and Dutch national had now been taken from the virus-hit ship. Each bear in the installation in Washington, DC, is meant to represent one of the children Ukraine says have been abducted by Russia.
Background
Officials in both states cite dry conditions, high winds and drought as key factors making the fires difficult to control. Despite Donald Trump’s announcement of an extension of the US-Iran ceasefire, several vessels have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. The BBC's Azadeh Moshiri is in Islamabad, where preparations for the peace talks continue, despite no confirmed date.
Key facts
- The shortages of food, milk, and essential medicines are straining maternal care services, making pregnancies more difficult and uncertain.
- The BBC's Will Grant spoke to two expectant mothers facing starkly different realities as the energy crisis unfolds.
- Read more about the fuel blockade on Cuba here.
- The Dutch foreign ministry confirmed that a British, German and Dutch national had now been taken from the virus-hit ship.
- Each bear in the installation in Washington, DC, is meant to represent one of the children Ukraine says have been abducted by Russia.
What this means
Esmail Baghaei expressed concern regarding the US’s naval blockade of its ports and the seizure of an Iranian vessel. The BBC has found significant spikes in activity shortly before the US president made some announcements. The US has intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf as part of its naval blockade, Donald Trump has said.
Residents from both political parties in Social Circle, Georgia, are rejecting a proposed plan by the Department of Homeland Security to transform an empty warehouse into a detention centre. The BBC asked the president's supporters about Iran, the economy and immigration at the largest conservative gathering in the country. BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner explains how the world's second-largest economy fits into the Gulf conflict.
Originally reported by BBC LatAm. This story has been edited and re-presented by BRIC Team.
