Lack of fuel has crippled public transportation in Cuba , and shortages of diesel have idled Havana’s fleet of garbage trucks, leaving trash to pile up in the streets. This in an extract from a heart felt article published this week in The Architects Journal, written by Belmont Freeman, a Cuban American architect.
He writes; A taxi driver told me that the price of gasoline hit 6,000 pesos for a liter, or about $38/gallon. It makes the complaints of pampered Americans, when Trump’s bombing of Iran caused gas prices to spike over $4 per gallon, seem petty.
Retail fuel supplies have completely run out, I’m told, shutting down gas stations. Long-haul airlines like Air Canada and Iberia have suspended flights to Cuba because airports on the island can no longer refuel their planes, though American carriers continue their 40-minute hops from Miami for now.
On March 31, a Russian tanker carrying 730,000 barrels of oil arrived at the Cuban port of Matanzas. The desperately needed fuel will relieve the Cuban people’s pain for maybe a week or two. That the shipment was completed without interference by the US Coast Guard, which for months has been effectively blockading the island, may suggest that while the Trump administration freely bullies Cuba’s Caribbean neighbors it is unwilling to stand up to Vladimir Putin.
A White House spokesperson was quoted in The New York Times saying that the administration “reserves the right to seize vessels … that are headed toward Cuba and that violate United States sanctions policy,” and that it will consider such interceptions “on a case-by-case basis.” Which is to say that Trump and Rubio will keep their hands on the pressure valve while negotiating with Cuba and, consistent with Trump’s style of diplomacy, keep everyone guessing.
The full story A recent visit to Cuba reveals how its fuel shortage is impacting urban life
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