MIAMI, United States. – The critical lack of gasoline and diesel keeps service stations paralyzed in several cities on the Island, while the Government continues without offering public information about the causes of the crisis. The deficit has left private vehicles stranded and public transportgenerating long lines of drivers waiting for a supply that does not arrive.
This new urgency adds to the persistent energy crisis that has plagued the country for months. After the massive blackouts that forced the suspension of classes and work, the population now faces another challenge: the impossibility of acquiring fuel. “We have been waiting for a fuel truck to arrive for three days,” Armando Corrales, who was waiting in his truck at a gas station in the capital, told the news agency. Reuters. “People have slept here in line so as not to lose their place,” he added.
Havana has received minimum quantities of fuel since Wednesday, according to official data collected by a state application that monitors deliveries to stations. However, there is still no clarification from the authorities. Previously, officials attributed the shortage to difficulties in purchasing fuel on the international market, compounded by financial restrictions stemming from the U.S. embargo.
Added to this situation is the decrease in the shipment of crude oil and fuels by Venezuela, a historical ally of the regime that, between January and November of this year, reduced its supplies to the Island by 44%, according to company data. state PDVSA cited by Reuters.
Although Mexico has helped partially alleviate the situation, its aid consists mainly of crude oil, which puts further pressure on Cuba’s aging refineries.
At the beginning of the year, the Cuban Government established the sale of fuel in dollars at unsubsidized prices, with the purpose of ensuring a more stable supply. However, in recent days even those stations, more expensive and in foreign currency, have registered failures. “The lines are miles long, even when you go to buy fuel in dollars now,” lamented Jorge Figueredo, interviewed in Miramar.
