Russia is preparing to rush urgently needed oil to Cuba under what officials describe as a "humanitarian" arrangement, according to a report Thursday by the pro-government newspaperIzvestia.
The Russian Embassy in HavanatoldIzvestiathat "as far as we know, Russia is expected tosupply oil and petroleum products to Cuba as humanitarian aid in the near future" - amid the island's worst energy crunch in years.
After decades of already crippling sanctions, President Trump's latest Executive Order "imposes a new tariff system that allows the United States to impose additional tariffs on imports from any country that directly or indirectly provides oil to Cuba."
The most devastating move has been to block the ability of the post-Maduro Venezuelan government to send supplies to Cuba. Caracas was Cuba's chief oil supplier.
Key airlines have stopped flights into Havana's main international airport for lack of jet fuel. As we reportedearlier, Russia is allowing its airlines to temporarily operate outbound flights only.
5,000 Russian tourists remain stranded in Cuba, amid an evacuation overseen by Moscow, according to AFP citing Russia's Association of Tour Operators.
Earlier this month international reports said Cuba was merely days from running out of fuel, and widescale power outages across various districts of the country have only worsened.
"The last known delivery came via a tanker from Mexico in early January, but Mexico halted exports amid US pressure,"The Guardiannotes. "At the same time, crude flows from Venezuela have dried up after a US operation in January that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, cutting off support from Cuba’s most trusted energy supplier."
Havana's lone primary international airport has seen drastic developments such as thefollowing:
In recent hours, a video has gone viral on social media showing dozens of tourists disembarking from a plane on the tarmac in Moscow after their flight to Cuba was aborted just before takeoff.
Source: ZeroHedge News
