Gas stations in Cuba run out of fuel amid the energy crisis

Cubans, who are still recovering from months of blackouts that last hoursnow have a new problem: fuel shortages at service stations.

Many fuel stations on the island have been closed for days as an unusually severe deficit has left the country almost out of gasoline and diesel, with stranded vehicles and lines in Havana.

“We’ve been waiting for a fuel truck to arrive for three days,” said Armando Corrales in his gray Kia truck at a gas station in the capital. “People have slept here in line so as not to lose their place,” he added.

The latest crisis comes after three power outages in two months that left millions of people in the dark for days, prompting the government to temporarily suspend schools and work.

Cuba has not yet offered an explanation for the most recent fuel deficit. There has only been a limited delivery of fuel in Havana since Wednesday, according to a government application that records deliveries to service stations.

Officials have previously blamed the fuel shortage on the decades-old U.S. trade embargo, which complicates Cuba’s financial transactions, making it more difficult for the government to purchase fuel on the spot market.

Cuba’s long-standing allies have also failed this year, contributing to the fuel crisis.

Venezuela has sent 44% less crude oil and fuel to the Caribbean island between January and November, according to tanker monitoring data and documents from the Venezuelan state company PDVSA, which has forced Cuba to look for supplies elsewhere. .

Mexico, which has become a regular supplier to the island, has made up some of the difference in the last year.

But both Venezuela and Mexico primarily ship crude oil to Cuba, putting more pressure on aging Cuban refineries to convert the raw material into gasoline and diesel for use in cars, trucks and smaller-scale generators.

Earlier this year, Cuba began selling fuel in dollars at unsubsidized prices, a move the government said was necessary, in part, to raise enough foreign currency to ensure a steady supply at service stations.

But even those much more expensive “dollar gas stations” have failed this week, Jorge Figueredo said as he waited to fill up with fuel in Miramar, a suburb of Havana. “The lines are miles long, even when one goes to buy fuel in dollars now,” he added.

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