Washington– The Cuban government has rejected a request by the US Embassy in Havana to allow it to import diesel fuel to power its generators while the Trump administration continues to impose sanctions on Cuba. Fuel blockade on the island Two US officials familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The government rejected the request at a time when the US State Department is considering reducing the number of workers at its embassy in the Cuban capital, Havana, due to the shortage of diesel fuel. Such a move would likely lead the United States to demand a similar reduction in staffing at the Cuban embassy in Washington, say the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.
The Washington Post was the first to publish the news of the Cuban government’s rejection.
The White House, State Department and Cuban Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Cuba has been suffering from a decline in oil since the United States ousted the Venezuelan leader and halted important oil shipments from the country, which was a staunch ally of Havana. president Donald Trump then Threatened tariffs Any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba.
The island relies on its own natural gas, solar energy and oil to power its thermal power plants, but that’s not all It wasn’t enough To meet the demand.
Many of the nation’s 11 million Population struggle To keep food from spoiling. Hospitals canceled surgeries. Its leading university Reducing classes Due to power outages and transportation stops.
The confrontation over diesel comes at a time when Trump is pressing for radical change in the government he leads Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said they viewed the island nation as such The next country where the United States can expand its influence.
They demand, in part, that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
The Trump administration is looking for Diaz-Canel to leave his position, the Associated Press previously reported. No details were provided about who the administration might want to see come to power.
Trump has indicated for months that the Cuban government is on the verge of collapse. After Cuba’s electrical grid collapsed earlier this week, causing power outages across the island, Trump told reporters he believed he would soon have “the honor of taking over Cuba.”
“He took Cuba in some way… Whether I liberate it, whether I take it, I think I can do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said. “They are a very weak nation right now.”
Trump indicated that senior Cuban leaders would be smart to avoid the fate of the former Venezuelan president nicolas maduro, He was overthrown in a US military operation in January and transferred to New York to face federal drug conspiracy charges. Venezuela was Cuba’s closest ally and supplied it with heavily subsidized oil.
Any potential reduction in staffing at the embassy is not expected to happen immediately because the United States believes it has enough diesel reserves to last another month, according to one official.
There are limited options to tap into Cuba’s fuel reserves, which are tightly controlled by the government.
For example, one official said that the Spanish embassy in Havana had a large surplus of fuel and offered it to other European embassies facing similar shortages, but Cuban authorities refused to authorize it.
The Spanish Embassy’s reserves have been bolstered by the previous import of diesel intended for Spanish-owned hotels on the island. Most, if not all, of these hotels are currently closed due to the low number of tourists visiting Cuba.
Diaz-Canel He said so last week Cuba held talks With the American government. This was the first time it had been done Caribbean country It confirmed widespread speculation about discussions with the Trump administration amid the Republican administration’s pressure campaign.
Humanitarian organizations I started providing aid To Cuba by air on Friday, including solar panels, food and medicine.
Cuba is also preparing to receive a shipment of Russian oil later this month, which will be its first shipment in the past three months.