Aerial view of Havana’s José Martí International Airport taken from an airplane on April 3, 2025.
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The Cuban government said international airlines could no longer refuel there due to fuel shortages after U.S. President Donald Trump did so Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that supplies the communist country with oil.
The island nation’s leadership said Sunday that Cuba would run out of aviation fuel starting Monday, likely affecting the operations of airlines operating there. according to the EFE news agencyciting two sources.
The kerosene shortage is expected to continue next month and will affect all of Cuba’s international airports.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry and the Cuban Embassy in London did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
In an executive order issued in late January, Trump said the Cuban government posed “an unusual and extraordinary threat” that required a national emergency declaration.
The US president said Cuba’s ties to countries such as China, Russia and Iran, human rights abuses and communist leadership are destabilizing the region “through migration and violence.”
As part of the announcement, Trump said U.S. tariffs could target countries that directly or indirectly supply oil to Cuba.
The Trump administration has been trying to tighten the US stranglehold on Cuba since January 3rd bold military operation to remove the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduroa long-time ally of the Cuban government.
Russia: Fuel situation in Cuba is “critical”
Faced with a worsening energy crisis, Cuba on Friday unveiled major measures to protect vital services and ration fuel supplies to key sectors.
The plan allegedly These include restrictions on fuel sales, the closure of some tourist facilities, the shortening of school days and a reduction in weekly working hours in state-owned companies to four days, from Monday to Thursday.
Russia, which has friendly relations with Cuba, said on Monday that the fuel situation in Havana was “really critical” and that U.S. attempts to further pressure the country were causing numerous problems.
“The situation in Cuba is really critical. We know that. We are in intensive contact with our Cuban friends through diplomatic and other channels. Let’s assume that the US stranglehold is causing a lot of difficulties for the country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday state news agency RIA Novosti.
Pedestrians walk past the Habana Libre Hotel, the former Havana Hilton, on February 2, 2026 in Havana. Tourism in Cuba suffered a major setback in 2025.
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Previously Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla said The country’s leadership strongly condemned Washington’s tariff threats.
In a statement released on January 30, Parrilla also accused the US government of resorting to “blackmail and coercion to force other countries to join its widely condemned blockade policy against Cuba.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Last week, her government announced it would send humanitarian aid to Cuba starting Monday, adding that the country was working on a diplomatic solution to resume oil shipments to the Caribbean island.
Mexico halted shipments of crude oil and refined products to Cuba under pressure from the Trump administration.
