It is tit-for-tat in Cuba as the US embassy runs out of fuel. The US embassy in Havana, Cuba, has run out of diesel, and the Cuban government wants it to have the same experience as everyone else on the island.
The embassy needs diesel for its generators, but so does everyone else in Cuba, considering the long hours of blackout the island is experiencing.
The Cuban government has even refused to allow other embassies to help the US embassy. For example, the Spanish embassy has some surplus oil reserves and is willing to share, but Cuba will not allow it. Now the US embassy is allegedly contemplating reducing its staff in Havana.
Trump Banned Oil Shipping to Cuba
Trump’s administration has banned the shipping of oil into Cuba, threatening to impose penalties on any country supplying the island with oil. Normally, Cuba would receive a daily supply of 35,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela, but that has also stopped since the abduction and jailing of President Maduro of Venezuela.
Many economic sectors have also been adversely affected by that trade interference, including the transport and hospitality sectors. Tourists have left Cuba en masse, and there are minimal new arrivals. Not only have flights become unreliable due to the fuel shortage, but many tourist hotels have also closed down.
Trump Reinstated Cuba to the SST
Cuba has been experiencing economic hardships since US President Donald Trump reversed the economic gains the country received during the Obama administration.
In 2015, President Obama removed Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) that had made the island a pariah. With the diplomatic hurdles removed, foreign countries began to open embassies in the country.
However, Trump reversed that decision in 2021, hence Cuba is formally still on the SST.
Russia Ignoring the US
Apparently, Russia is ignoring the US regarding supplies to Cuba, notwithstanding Trump’s adversarial position toward the island. Two oil ships, the Sea Horse and the Anatoly Kolodkin, are said to be en route to Cuba, the latter allegedly carrying around 700,000 barrels of fuel.