Cuba has completely run out of diesel and fuel oil, the country’s Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy has said.
In an interview with state-run media, de la O Levy said there were limited amounts of gas available, but that Cuba’s energy system was in a “critical” state as a US-led blockade of oil to the country squeezed supply.
Scattered protests against power cuts broke out in the capital Havana on Wednesday, the Reuters news agency reported.
The US this week reiterated its offer of sending $100m (£74m) in aid to the country in exchange for “meaningful reforms to Cuba’s communist system”.
“The sum of the different types of fuel: crude oil, fuel oil, of which we have absolutely none; diesel, of which we have absolutely none – I am being repetitive – the only thing we have is gas from our wells, where production has grown,” de la O Levy said.
Under the US blockade, parts of Havana have been plunged into 20 to 22-hour blackout periods, he continued.
He also acknowledged that the situation in the country had been “extremely tense”.
Hospitals have been unable to function normally, while schools and government offices have been forced to close. Tourism, an economic engine for Cuba, has also been impacted.
Cuba normally relies on Venezuela and Mexico to supply oil to its refinery system. However, the two countries have largely cut off supplies since US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on countries that send fuel to Cuba.
Credit: bbc.com
