Cuban authorities have announced that international airlines can no longer refuel there. This happened shortly after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country supplying oil to Cuba.
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Russia, which maintains friendly relations with Cuba, described the fuel situation in Havana as “really critical.”
Canadian airline Air Canada said Monday it had suspended all flights to Cuba due to ongoing fuel shortages.
“Over the next few days, our airline will operate empty one-way flights to pick up approximately 3,000 of our customers in Cuba and bring them home,” Air Canada said in a statement.
Donald Trump. After Venezuela, time for Cuba?
The Trump administration has been seeking to tighten U.S. control over Cuba since Jan. 3, when it carried out a daring military operation aimed at overthrowing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of the Cuban government.
On the night from Sunday to Monday, the President of the United States posted on his Truth Social social media platform a photo with a map in which the US territory includes Greenland, Canada, Cuba and Venezuela. This is the second time the president has released this graphic.
The posted graphic is a modified photo from the meeting from August last year. with European leaders and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
In an executive order issued in late January, Trump said the Cuban government posed an “unusual and extraordinary threat” that required a declaration of a national emergency.
The US president said Cuba's ties with countries such as China, Russia and Iran, human rights abuses and communist leadership are destabilizing the region “through migration and violence.”
Energy crisis in Cuba Havana, Cuba, February 8, 2025
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ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/East News / East News
On Friday, mired in a deepening energy crisis, Cuba unveiled sweeping measures to protect basic services and ration fuel supplies to key sectors.
The plan reportedly includes restrictions on fuel sales, closing some tourist facilities, shortening school days and reducing the working week at state-owned enterprises to four days, from Monday to Thursday.
Russia with the “iron grip of the USA”: it causes many difficulties
Russia, which maintains friendly relations with Cuba, said on Monday that the fuel situation in Havana was “really critical” and that U.S. attempts to put further pressure on the country were causing numerous problems.
“The situation in Cuba is truly critical. We know it. We are in intensive contact with our Cuban friends through diplomatic and other channels. One could even say that “The iron grip of the US is creating many difficulties for the country.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Source: CNBC, PAP
