The gasoline crisis in Cuba, which led the government to establish a quota of 40 liters per car, did not affect the diplomats stationed in Havana, who filled up at a couple of designated gas stations. But that ended a few weeks ago and has led embassies to resort to an original method: rent Chinese-made electric cars from the Cuban government.
This Monday, at the State Department’s daily press briefing, spokesman Matthew Miller said he was not aware of the detail. But today, Tuesday, the US Foreign Ministry distributed a statement with some details on the matter.
“There is a fuel crisis in Cuba. In order to maintain operations, the US Embassy in Havana leased numerous electric cars that are available for rent in Havana. And it will continue to do so until this crisis subsides. In Cuba there are no electric cars made in the United States available for rent. The United States embassy in Havana currently does not have any electric vehicles in its motorized fleet. All Department of State vehicles have a life cycle, and the Embassy is currently in the process of replacing a large percentage of its vehicles with electric vehicles made in the United States, and expects to complete that process sometime in 2024. The needs of Vehicles from the Embassy in Havana vary daily, as does the availability of various electric rental models, and their cost. […]“, indicates the statementquoted in a note from the Cuba-USA Economic and Trade Council.
The rented electric cars are not American because the Treasury Department has not granted the necessary license. So there was no alternative but to rent them to a Cuban company that imports electric cars and their respective batteries. This entity is not included in the list of prohibited Cuban firms.
On Tuesday morning, OnCuba contacted several Western embassies in the Cuban capital about whether they took the same measures, but none wanted to comment on the matter. “We do not comment on details about the internal functioning of the embassy,” said a spokesman for the French embassy who did not want to be identified.
The news was addressed in response to journalistic inquiries on May 8. “The embassy is facing an emergency fuel crisis and is leasing several electric vehicles from a local car rental agency until the crisis subsides. There are no US-made electric vehicles available for rent in Cuba.”
The next day, May 9, the State Department expanded: “As noted in our previous response, the embassy is facing an emergency fuel crisis and has taken temporary steps to ensure continuity of operations. Due to the fluid situation regarding fuel, the details […] they change daily. The rental agency is not on Cuba’s restricted list. There is nothing more to share at this time.”
In construction…
