Oil refinery ablaze in Cuba as fuel crisis deepens

 

By
Harry Sekulich

 

A fire at an oil refinery in Cuba has been brought under control quickly, as the country faces a deepening fuel crisis.

Black smoke clouds could be seen billowing from the Ñico López Refinery in the capital Havana on Friday.

No-one was injured and an investigation into the blaze has been set up, Cuba’s energy ministry said in a post on X. The fire occurred close to where two oil tankers were moored in Havana Bay.

Cuba’s fuel shortage has worsened after the US blocked Venezuela’s oil shipments to the island.
Venezuela, a long-standing ally of Cuba, was previously believed to have sent around 35,000 barrels of oil a day to the island before the US military seized former president Nicolás Maduro in a raid in the capital, Caracas, on 3 January.

The US also confiscated Venezuelan oil tankers, cutting off key supplies of fuel to Cuba, and pledged new tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba.

US President Donald Trump has urged Cuban leaders to “make a deal” or face consequences, after flows of oil and money from Venezuela were cut off.

Electricity cuts have impacted hospital emergency wards, dialysis patients, and pumping stations amid the latest supply shortfalls.

Cuba also has a shortage of aviation fuel, leading several airlines to suspend services to the island and some countries, including the UK, to warn citizens against non-essential travel there.

“Authorities have introduced fuel rationing, scaled back public services, and made temporary changes to healthcare, education, transport and tourism operations to conserve severely limited energy supplies,” the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office warned recently.

As the oil embargo continues to make life and access to essentials difficult on Cuba, two Mexican ships carrying 800 tonnes of humanitarian aid arrived at Havana Bay on Thursday.

United Nations (UN) human rights experts have described Washington’s restrictions on oil imports into Cuba as an “extreme form of unilateral economic coercion”.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said he was “extremely concerned” about the worsening crisis in Cuba.

US economic and trade embargoes on Cuba have been in place since 1960.