The Pulitzer Center's support for this reporting was made possible through the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)
Cuba is on the verge of collapse as the island has come to a grinding halt since U.S. intervention in Venezuela in early 2026. After losing its largest oil supplier, Cuba has fallen into a humanitarian crisis. Among food shortages, 20-hour blackouts, and a lack of medical care, transportation, and sanitation services, Cubans wait for change that could determine their future—the potential end of one of the last Soviet-style communist systems in the world.
Photographer Lisette Poole González travels through Cuba to document the island, showing the effects of U.S. blockades on Cubans’ daily lives.
As a documentarian, Poole captures the resilience of the Cuban people through an insider’s lens rooted in family visits dating back to the 1990s and over 15 years of experience working on the island. She returned in April to create a series of photo-driven stories that reflect the current state of Cuba from an intimate, human perspective, as part of her broader body of work on post-Fidel Cuba.
Poole will also document Cuba’s renowned healthcare system as medical professionals struggle to provide services. She will research and photograph a nationwide network of sustainable farmers who promote food security and sovereignty, and she will continue her work documenting the LGBTQIA+ community and culture for various publications.
