Food and medicine shortages, aviation collapse: Fuel crisis hits Cuba due to US sanctions
Cuban aviation officials have warned the island is running out of fuel for airlines to refuel on the island, the latest crisis prompted by a US oil blockade that has effectively severed Cuba’s access to its primary petroleum sources in Venezuela and Mexico, Euronews writes.
The Cuban government issued the notice on Sunday night, warning that jet fuel would not be available at nine airports across the island, starting Tuesday and continuing until 11 March.
On Monday, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to the island, while other airlines announced delays and layovers in the Dominican Republic before flights continued to Havana.
The fuel shortage deals another blow to a country that relies heavily on tourism, an industry that once generated more than €2.5 billion in annual revenue and served as a vital economic lifeline.
US sanctions against Cuba have been in place for more than six decades and have long stunted Cuba’s economy. But they reached new levels after a US military operation resulted in the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
In late January, Trump signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba.
Since the Venezuela operation, Trump has said that no more Venezuelan oil will go to Cuba and that the Cuban government is ready to fall.
Some banks have cut operating hours and fuel distribution companies said they would no longer sell gas in Cuban pesos — and that sales will be made in dollars and limited to 20 litres per user.
Cuban officials also announced Monday that bank hours have been reduced and that cultural events have been suspended. In Havana, the public bus system has effectively ground to a halt, leaving residents stranded.
For many Cubans, the crisis has translated into power outages lasting up to 10 hours, vehicle fuel shortages, and a lack of food or medicine, many of which compare to the severe economic depression in the 1990s known as the Special Period, which followed cuts in aid from what was then the Soviet Union.
