Quick Read
- Cuba announced wide-ranging fuel rationing measures on Friday to protect essential services.
- The U.S. is intensifying efforts to cut off oil supply to Cuba, prompting the rationing.
- Tourism and export sectors will be prioritized for fuel to secure foreign exchange.
- Canadian tourists are being consolidated into hotels to conserve energy, leading to local job losses.
- Education and healthcare services are also being restructured to cope with fuel shortfalls.
HAVANA (Azat TV) – Cuba is implementing wide-ranging fuel rationing measures and consolidating tourists in hotels as the communist-run island nation grapples with a severe fuel shortage, intensified by ongoing U.S. efforts to cut off oil supply. The Cuban government detailed its plan on Friday to protect essential services and ration fuel, while the tourism sector has already begun adjusting to the scarcity, impacting international visitors.
The rationing measures represent the first official announcement since U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on countries exporting fuel to Cuba, signaling harder times for a population already facing shortages of food, fuel, and medicine. Despite the challenges, Commerce Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva struck a defiant tone, emphasizing the government’s resolve. ‘This is an opportunity and a challenge that we have no doubt we will overcome. We are not going to collapse,’ Perez-Oliva stated during a television news program, as reported by the Star-Advertiser.
Cuba’s Government Details Fuel Rationing Plan
The Cuban government’s comprehensive plan aims to guarantee fuel supply for critical sectors while rationing it for others. Ministers confirmed that key areas such as agricultural production, education, water supply, healthcare, and defense would be prioritized to ensure their continued operation. Crucially, the tourism and export sectors, including the production of Cuba’s renowned cigars, will also receive fuel to secure the foreign exchange necessary for funding other basic programs.
Perez-Oliva underscored the importance of these foreign currency earners, stating, ‘If we don’t have income, then we will not overcome this situation.’ While domestic and international air travel are not expected to be immediately affected, drivers across the island will experience cutbacks at the pump until supply normalizes. The government has also committed to protecting ports and ensuring fuel for domestic transportation to safeguard the nation’s vital import and export sectors.
Beyond immediate rationing, the government announced an ambitious plan to plant 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of rice to meet a significant portion of domestic demand. However, officials acknowledged that fuel shortfalls would necessitate a greater reliance on renewable energy for irrigation and animal power for tilling fields, signaling a shift in agricultural practices.
Tourism Sector Faces Consolidation Amid Fuel Scarcity
The impact of the fuel shortage is already being felt directly by tourists. Visitors arriving in Cuba are being consolidated into fewer hotels as the island attempts to conserve energy. Canadian tourists Vicky Volonik and Mark Harrington, who arrived in Cuba on Wednesday, described being transferred to another hotel on Friday. ‘They don’t have enough fuel,’ Volonik told CTV News Channel, explaining that hotels were grouping guests to save energy, leading to ‘pretty much the whole hotel relocating.’
Volonik, staying on Cayo Coco—an island off Cuba’s northern coast reserved for tourists—noted that while she personally had not witnessed food shortages or blackouts, the situation was causing significant distress among locals. She observed ‘lots of tears, lots of crying’ from Cuban workers who were losing their jobs and livelihoods due to the consolidation. ‘People are very upset because all the workers here just pretty much lost their job and their livelihood,’ she added, expressing greater concern for the local population.
In response to the escalating situation, the Canadian government has issued a travel advisory for Cuba, urging travelers to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ and prepare for potential disruptions.
Broader Impacts on Cuban Daily Life and Economy
The fuel crisis extends beyond tourism, affecting various aspects of daily life. Education Minister Naima Ariatne stated that while infant-care centers and primary schools would remain open and in-person, secondary schools and higher education institutions would adopt a hybrid system requiring greater flexibility, varying by institution and region. ‘As a priority, we want to leave (open) our primary schools,’ Ariatne affirmed.
Healthcare services are also being prioritized, with particular emphasis on emergency services, maternity wards, and cancer programs. The current fuel crisis is a direct consequence of the long-standing U.S. trade embargo, in place since Cuba’s 1953 revolution, and recent intensified efforts by the U.S. to restrict oil shipments to the island.
The Cuban government’s proactive measures to ration fuel and prioritize critical sectors, including tourism for foreign exchange, underscore the severe economic pressure the nation is currently enduring. The visible impact on international visitors, alongside the distress among local workers, highlights the immediate human and economic consequences of the ongoing U.S. sanctions and Cuba’s persistent struggle for resource autonomy.