Aerial view of Havana’s José Marti International Airport, taken from a plane on April 3, 2025.
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The Cuban government said international airlines could no longer refuel there due to fuel shortages after the US president. Donald Trump customs tariffs threatened on any country that supplies oil to the communist country.
The island nation’s leaders said Sunday that Cuba would run out of aviation fuel starting Monday, likely disrupting airlines operating there. according to the EFE news agencyciting two sources. The jet fuel shortage is expected to persist into the next month and all of Cuba’s international airports will be affected.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry and the Cuban Embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
The Trump administration has sought to tighten the US stranglehold on Cuba since January 3, when it conducted a daring military operation impeach the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduroa longtime ally of the Cuban government.
Trump, in an executive order issued in late January, said the Cuban government posed “an unusual and extraordinary threat” that required a declaration of national emergency.
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The US president said Cuba’s ties to countries like China, Russia and Iran, human rights abuses and communist leaders are destabilizing the region “through migration and violence.”
As part of the announcement, Trump said U.S. tariffs could target countries that supply oil to Cuba, whether directly or indirectly.
Russia: Fuel situation in Cuba “critical”Grappling with a worsening energy crisis, Cuba on Friday outlined sweeping measures intended to protect essential services and ration fuel supplies for key sectors.
The plan would have includes restrictions on the sale of fuel, the closure of some tourist establishments, the reduction of school days and a reduction of the working week in public companies to four days, from Monday to Thursday.
Russia, which maintains friendly relations with Cuba, said Monday that the oil situation in Havana was “really critical” and that U.S. attempts to put more pressure on the country were causing many problems.
“The situation in Cuba is really critical. We know it. We are in intensive contact with our Cuban friends through diplomatic and other channels. Indeed, let us say that the control of the United States is causing many difficulties for the country,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday. state media RIA Novosti.
Pedestrians pass in front of the Habana Libre hotel, formerly Havana Hilton, in Havana, February 2, 2026. Tourism in Cuba suffered a sharp decline in 2025.
Yamil Lage | Afp | Getty Images
The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, said The country’s leaders condemned Washington’s tariff threats in the “strongest possible terms.”
In a statement released Jan. 30, Parrilla also accused the U.S. government of using “blackmail and coercion to try to get other countries to join its universally condemned blockade policy against Cuba.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week, his government reportedly aimed to send humanitarian aid to Cuba starting Monday, adding that the country was working to find a diplomatic solution to resume oil shipments to the Caribbean island.
Mexico had suspended shipments of raw and refined products to Cuba under pressure from the Trump administration.
