MIAMI — Cuba has begun suffering a dire fuel shortage as the United States cuts off the country’s oil supply.
The streets of Cuba were at a near-total blackout over the weekend.
The Cuban government unveiled a plan this week to ration fuel like it rations food since President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on countries shipping oil to the island.
“The fuel situation is chaotic,” a Havana resident said. “There’s no fuel. There used to be 30, 40, 50 cars here; now only four or five are working because there’s no fuel.”
Cubans are feeling the effects at the pump.
CIMEX, Cuba’s state-owned conglomerate controlling imports and exports, tourism, and banking, announced that fuel sales in Cuban pesos and diesel sales in U.S. dollars are postponed indefinitely.
As of Saturday, certain centers accepting U.S. dollars will manage a sales platform.
Gas customers were limited to five gallons each.
Mexico navigated a delicate diplomatic position between the U.S. and Cuba in recent weeks.
With the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, that country’s critical oil shipments to Cuba stopped.
Mexican oil shipments became the remaining lifeline for Cuba.
Mexico’s president insists that oil is meant as humanitarian aid for Cuba in an economic crisis and will continue.
“Obviously, we do not want sanctions against Mexico, but we are in the process of dialogue and, for now, humanitarian aid will be sent,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said.
A lack of fuel also means airplanes cannot refuel in Havana.
In the meantime, pilots will have to bring in additional fuel from airports like Miami, or stop at another nearby country to refuel.
“The Cuban government has long needed foreign capital, US dollars, Canadian dollars, Euro, Swiss francs in order to basically be able to purchase imports and to prop up their government because they can’t really buy much with their own currency,” said World Affairs Council of Miami Founder and President Aaron Rosen. “The Trump administration is essentially trying to put as much economic pressure on the Cuban government as possible to extract whatever political concessions they can get.”
A spokesperson for Miami International Airport told Local 10 News that so far, no flights to or from Cuba have been cancelled.
It is such a short trip from Miami to Cuba that airlines at MIA that fly to Cuba don’t need to refuel there, whereas the aviation fuel shortage is taking a toll for carriers further away.
That includes Air Canada, which suspended flights to Cuba after the Cuban government said aviation fuel would not be available at Cuban airports as of Tuesday.
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