Cuba halts airline refuelling as US punishment takes toll

Cuban authorities have informed airlines operating in the country that kerosene supplies will be suspended for a month starting at midnight on Monday due to the energy crisis. Photo / Yamil Lage, AFP

Cuba has warned airlines it is suspending jet fuel supplies for a month because of an energy crisis prompted by the US attack on Venezuela, an official at a European carrier said today.

Cuba has told carriers serving the communist-run island that starting at midnight on Monday (local time) into Tuesday, they cannot refuel there, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Cuba is reeling from a US-ordered halt in oil shipments from Venezuela after American troops captured Nicolas Maduro.

Planes covering long-distance flights from Cuba will now have to stop somewhere after leaving the island to get more jet fuel, this official quoted Cuban aviation officials as saying.

Air France told AFP its planes would stop somewhere else in the Caribbean to refuel.

The Cuban Government on Friday announced emergency measures to address the island’s energy crisis, including a four-day work week for state-owned companies and fuel sale restrictions.

The belt-tightening measures include a reduction in bus and train services between provinces and the closure of certain tourist establishments.

School days will also be made shorter and universities will relax requirements on in-person attendance.

Washington has increased pressure on Cuba’s communist Government in recent weeks.

The United States cut off oil deliveries from Havana’s key ally Venezuela following its ouster of Maduro in early January.

President Donald Trump also signed an executive order allowing his country to impose tariffs on countries selling oil to Havana.

Trump said that Mexico, which has been supplying Cuba with oil since 2023, would stop doing so – under threat of US tariffs.

The oil shortages have threatened to plunge Cuba into complete darkness, with power plants struggling to keep the lights on.

Washington has long sought to overthrow or weaken the communist-led Cuban Government.

Havana accuses Trump of wanting to “strangle” the island’s economy, where power cuts and fuel shortages, already recurrent in recent years, have become even more acute.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said his country was willing to hold talks with the United States, but not under pressure.

– Agence France-Presse