Havana/The fuel crisis that Cuba is going through reached a new threshold this Wednesday and began to directly affect private companies operating on the Island. Cubamax, one of the main parcel delivery companies, recognized that it cannot guarantee the normal distribution of its shipments. In a statementthe company admitted “significant delays” in the delivery of packages and announced severe restrictions on its services, one more sign of the logistical collapse that the country is going through.
This same Wednesday, the lines were miles long at the company’s offices in Miami. “We are speeding up the pace to send packages to the Island because of everything that is happening,” said one of the waiting customers. Another, with children on the Island, described the uncertainty: “They are still accepting shipments without restrictions, but it seems that these will be the last before the cut.”
Cubamax, with more than 25 years operating in “sending aid to Cuban families,” explained that the current “severe fuel shortage” directly affects all services that require distribution and delivery within the Island. The company admits that the lack of diesel limits transportation to final destinations and makes it difficult for shipments to reach “each Cuban family as is our desire and commitment.”
Faced with this scenario, the company announced a series of exceptional measures. Among them, limiting the acceptance of shipments exclusively to essential supplies, food and medicine; allow only one shipment per customer; serve only existing customers and temporarily suspend home delivery service. According to the statement, the packages can only be collected at 239 authorized points throughout the country.
The current readjustment of operations confirms the persistence of old and new obstacles
Cubamax’s decisions reflect a reality that extends far beyond a specific company. The fuel shortage has drastically reduced internal mobility, affecting public transportation, food distribution, the operation of hospitals and now also the arrival of aid sent from abroad. In a country where millions of households depend on packages sent by emigrated relatives, any logistical interruption has immediate consequences on daily survival.
The new restrictions also come at a time of special public exposure for Cubamax. In recent months, the company has been pointed out following the authorization to process and deliver remittances in dollars within the Island, a service that generated attention both among the receiving families and among authorities and political sectors in the United States. This scrutiny showed the weight that Cubamax acquired in the informal economic flows that support the Cuban population.
Although the statement emphasizes that the situation is “completely beyond our will and control,” the truth is that the Cuban energy crisis has long ceased to be a temporary phenomenon. The decrease in supplies from Venezuela in recent years, the lack of foreign currency to import fuel and the deterioration of infrastructure have turned energy supply into a chronic problem, even before Donald Trump’s executive order that threatens tariffs on those who send oil to Cuba. In this context, parcel delivery companies such as Cubamax operated with increasingly narrow margins.
The company itself suffered interruptions recent developments in their services – whether in the delivery of remittances, in the distribution of currency or in physical shipments. These cuts have been linked to structural problems within Cuba, from changes in intermediaries to logistical limitations imposed by the State itself. The current readjustment of operations confirms the persistence of old and new obstacles.
The Cubamax advertisement also illustrates the growing weight of private actors and external support networks in the daily life of the population.
The impact of these restrictions is not measured only in days of delay. For many families, a package is not a complementary good, but rather an essential source of food, medicine or basic products that are not available in the state market. The suspension of home delivery also requires travel that not everyone can afford, especially the elderly, sick people or residents of rural areas.
Cubamax emphasizes in its message that “they are not just shipments,” but “humanitarian aid” sent “with great love and sacrifice.” The company also warns that if fuel availability does not improve in the coming weeks, it will take additional measures until “minimum necessary conditions” exist to guarantee responsible service.
From the Government, the official explanation continues to attribute the fuel shortage only to external factors, in particular to United States sanctions. However, the general deterioration observed in recent years highlights the limitations of an economic model that fails to stably sustain essential services. Internal distribution depends on a vulnerable energy supply, without strategic reserves or alternative mechanisms to cushion interruptions, while other state consumption – such as the military sector – maintains priority.
The Cubamax advertisement also illustrates the growing weight of private actors and external support networks in the daily life of the population. The sending of packages, food and medicines from abroad has become a structural component of the survival of many households, which reinforces the dependence on resources generated outside the country. The current restrictions show that this flow, key for millions of Cubans, also runs the risk of collapsing.
