Canadian airlines have suspended flights to Cuba as the island nation faces depletion in jet fuel stocks amid a U.S. energy squeeze aimed at prompting regime change. The latest step-up of the pressure was a threat from President Trump to impose tariffs on any nation that sends oil to Cuba.
According to a Reuters report, Air Canada had warned about lack of jet fuel supplies at Cuban airports as soon as today, with two other Canadian carriers cancelling flights as well. Per the report, the shortage of jet fuel is expected to last for a month.
Air Canada also said it would send empty planes to Cuba to pick up some 3,000 travellers, carrying extra fuel supplies and making refueling stops on the way back.
“We continue working tirelessly to ensure the safety, fluidity, and order of the airspace, supporting airline operations and ensuring that aviation in Cuba maintains the levels of reliability that characterize us,” the Cuban Aviation Corporation said in its own statement, as quoted by Reuters.
Bloomberg meanwhile reported that Cuba had received no oil imports from anywhere in January, citing Kpler data. Cuba’s biggest oil suppliers have traditionally been Venezuela and Mexico, with Venezuela the biggest, but after the effective U.S. takeover of Venezuela’s oil industry those supplies dried up. Now, after Trump put pressure on Mexico to stop shipping fuel to the heavily sanctioned island, Cuba has no immediate alternatives although Russia has signaled it planned to continue supplying fuel there.
“It’s not right. They don’t have fuel for hospitals or schools. The people are suffering,” Mexico’s president, Claudia Scheinbaum said Monday, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told media that “The situation in Cuba is indeed critical. We are aware of this. We are maintaining intensive contacts with our Cuban friends through diplomatic and other channels.”
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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