Loss of Venezuelan Oil, American Blockade Plunge Cuba Further Into Crisis

A tightening American oil blockade has triggered a severe energy crisis across Cuba, forcing the island nation to ration fuel, cut electricity, and suspend refueling for international airlines. The measures come as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on Havana following recent military actions in Venezuela, cutting off the island’s prime source of oil. Mexico has also paused oil shipments under American pressure.Life on the communist-ruled island of 11 million has ground to a near-halt. Bus stops sit empty while families revert to using wood and coal for cooking during near-constant power outages. President Miguel Diaz-Canel has imposed strict emergency restrictions, including reducing office hours and limiting fuel sales, to cope with the shortage.On Friday, Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga appeared on state television to announce a shift to a four-day workweek for state companies. The emergency plan also includes closing major tourism facilities, shortening school days, and reducing in-person attendance at universities.“Fuel will be used to protect essential services for the population and indispensable economic activities,” Mr. Perez-Oliva said. “This is an opportunity and a challenge that we have no doubt we will overcome. We are not going to collapse.”The government said it will prioritize available fuel for public health, food production, and defense, while accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources.The crisis has severely impacted international travel. On Sunday, Cuba notified airlines that it would suspend the provision of jet fuel for one month. Starting at midnight between Monday and Tuesday, carriers flying to and from the island will be unable to refuel locally.The shortages follow aggressive moves by the White House to isolate Havana. Decades of American sanctions had already strained Cuba’s economy, leaving it reliant on allies like Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico for oil. However, supply lines were severed last month after American forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a key ally to Havana.Washington has since blocked Venezuelan oil from reaching Cuba and threatened tariffs on any other nation supplying fuel to the island. President Trump has also signed an executive order labeling the Cuban government “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security. “It looks like it’s something that’s just not going to be able to survive,” Mr. Trump told reporters last week regarding the Cuban economy. “It is a failed nation.”Mr. Trump suggested that the pressure campaign is designed to force a political shift. “It doesn’t have to be a humanitarian crisis. I think they probably would come to us and want to make a deal. So Cuba would be free again,” he said.The administration’s stance marks a sharp pivot back to Cold War-era hostilities, reversing previous periods of engagement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a son of Cuban exiles in Miami, confirmed during a Senate hearing that regime change is the desired outcome.“We would like to see the regime there change. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make a change, but we would love to see a change,” Mr. Rubio said.Havana has condemned the American actions, rejecting the accusation that it poses a security threat.“The Cuban people and the American people benefit from constructive engagement, lawful cooperation, and peaceful coexistence. Cuba reaffirms its willingness to maintain a respectful and reciprocal dialogue, oriented toward tangible results, with the United States government, based on mutual interest and international law,” the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla further accused the United States of resorting to “blackmail and coercion in an attempt to make other countries to join its universally condemned blockade policy against Cuba.”

Loss of Venezuelan Oil, American Blockade Plunge Cuba Further Into Crisis

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