Aerial view of Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport taken from an airplane on April 3, 2025.
Yamil Raji | AFP | Getty Images
Cuba’s government says fuel shortages have prevented international airlines from refueling in Cuba, after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that supplies oil to the communist country.
Cuba’s leadership said on Sunday that the country would run out of aviation fuel starting Monday, which could cause disruption for airlines operating there, EFE news agency reported, citing two sources. The kerosene shortage is expected to continue into next month, affecting all Cuba’s international airports.
Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cuban Embassy in London did not respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
The Trump administration has been trying to tighten the US grip on Cuba since January 3, when it launched a bold military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a longtime ally of the Cuban government.
In an executive order issued in late January, President Trump said the Cuban government posed an “unusual and unusual threat” that required a declaration of a national emergency.
The president said Cuba’s relationships with countries including China, Russia and Iran, human rights abuses and communist leaders are destabilizing the region “through migration and violence.”
As part of the announcement, President Trump said U.S. tariffs could target countries that supply oil to Cuba, either directly or indirectly.
Russia: Cuba’s fuel situation is ‘critical’
Cuba, hit by a deepening energy crisis, on Friday outlined wide-ranging measures to protect essential services and rationed fuel supplies to key sectors.
The plan reportedly includes limiting fuel sales, closing some tourist facilities, shortening school days and reducing the working week at state-owned enterprises to four days, Monday through Thursday.
Cuba’s friendly Russia said on Monday that the fuel situation in Havana was “truly critical” and that U.S. attempts to put more pressure on the country were causing a host of problems.
“The situation in Cuba is really critical. We are aware of it. We are in intensive contact with our friends in Cuba through diplomatic and other channels. Let’s say, in fact, the US stranglehold is causing a lot of difficulties for the country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
Pedestrians walk past the Havana Libre Hotel (formerly the Havana Hilton) on February 2, 2026 in Havana. Cuba’s tourism industry suffered a sharp setback in 2025.
Yamil Raji | AFP | Getty Images
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla previously said the country’s leadership condemned the U.S. tariff threat “in the strongest possible terms.”
In a statement posted on January 30, Parrilla accused the US government of resorting to “intimidation and coercion in an effort to coerce other countries into joining the globally condemned blockade of Cuba.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week that her government would aim to send humanitarian aid to Cuba starting Monday, adding that the country was working to find a diplomatic solution to restart oil shipments to the Caribbean island.
Mexico had suspended shipments of crude oil and refined products to Cuba under pressure from the Trump administration.
