In San José de las Lajas, gasoline became a rumor

San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque)/With barely five liters of gasoline in the tank of his vehicle, Yasmany has been half sleeping for two days and checking his phone every few minutes. The turn to buy fuel has been “assigned” in the Ticket application since Sunday at the San José service center, known in town as the Black Gold, but the promise that “the truck will come in today” has been diluted with each dawn. The executive order of Donald Trump, announced this Thursday, has fueled their worst nightmares.

“They’ve been doing the same thing since yesterday. The only thing that comes here are more cars and more engines,” says the taxi driver, leaning on the door of his almond, while calculating how many trips he stopped making this week and how much money he stopped coming into the house. “Now with this fact that they will impose tariffs on those who sell oil to Cuba, I don’t know if I will finally be able to reach a few liters one day.”

At first glance, the scene in front of the gas station seems to repeat itself without changes: cars parked in double rows, motorcycles leaning against the turned off pumps, men sitting or standing, arms crossed, looking at the empty track. The gas station is open, what there is is no fuel. However, all it takes is for a rumor to spread that “the pipe is coming” for the place to fill up as if it were a day of secure supply. “There are cars here because someone told us. Sometimes the employees themselves keep phone numbers and call certain drivers. Then comes the tip,” says Yasmany without lowering his voice, convinced that, once again, only those willing to pay outside will be able to buy something.

The afternoon falls on San José de las Lajas with a reddish light that lengthens the shadows of the fountains and accentuates the fatigue of those waiting. The problem is no longer just whether or not the fuel arrives, but whether there will be power when that happens. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in pesos or dollars, if there’s no electricity nothing is sent,” summarizes Carlos, sitting on his MZ motorcycle, with his helmet hanging from the handlebars.

Carlos says that on the street a liter of gasoline already exceeds, in some cases, 1,000 pesos. And even then it is not guaranteed. “Before paying 1,500 pesos to someone to wait in line here, I prefer to buy directly from the one who has it, even if I am forced to travel half the town,” he explains. The phrase is repeated among motorcyclists, private taxi drivers and owners of old cars adapted with parts of all kinds. Keeping a vehicle on the road has become an act of daily resistance. “If this continues like this, I’m going to have to park the motorbike or sell it. And to sell now is to lose,” he admits.

In front of the sales window, several drivers try to get a concrete response from the service center employees. Nobody knows anything. Nobody confirms or denies. “Yesterday was the same story,” remembers Roberto, owner of a 1950s Chevrolet. “I spent the entire day here, waiting for a truck that never showed up.” Indignation mixes with fatigue. Some sit on the sidewalk and others talk among themselves.

A few meters away, a yellow taxi remains parked, the driver leaning on the hood, looking at the phone without much faith. A motorist enters, asks, leaves. Another driver of a car starts, tired of waiting, and goes in search of an illegal seller who will pay for even a few liters.

The hope of some is to get gasoline in Havana. The Cuban capital, always privileged in supply, is also experiencing weeks of oil supply shortages but “you can always find what you don’t have here,” warns a driver. “When there is not a drop left here and all of San José de las Lajas is paralyzed, there will still be a way to fill the tank over there.”

The shortage, many recognize, will not have a solution in the short term, but they regret the terrible information. “The tanker truck is like a ghost,” Roberto ironically says. “No one knows the day or time it appears.” Meanwhile, San José de las Lajas is organized around rumor, last-minute notice, favors paid, and the informal market that sets prices without restraint. On the Black Gold track, fuel continues to be a promise that does not materialize.