Cuba says airlines can no longer refuel as Trump turns up the pressure

The Cuban government said international airlines can no longer refuel in the island nation due to fuel shortages after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that supplies the communist country with oil.

Cuba’s leadership said Sunday that the country will run out of aviation fuel from Monday, likely disrupting airlines operating there, according to EFE news agency, which cited two sources. The kerosene shortage is expected to persist for the next month, with all of Cuba’s international airports affected.

Cuba’s Foreign Ministry and the Cuban Embassy in London did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

The Trump administration has sought to tighten the U.S. chokehold on Cuba since Jan. 3, when it conducted an audacious military operation to depose Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Cuba’s government.

Trump, in an executive order issued at the end of January, said the Cuban government constituted “an unusual and extraordinary threat,” which required a national emergency declaration.

The U.S. president said Cuba’s ties to countries including China, Russia and Iran, human rights violations and communist leadership destabilize the region “through migration and violence.”

As part of the announcement, Trump said U.S. tariffs may target countries that provide any oil to Cuba, whether directly or indirectly.

The plan reportedly includes restrictions on fuel sales, the closure of some tourist establishments, shortening school days, and a reduction of the working week at state-owned companies to four days, from Monday to Thursday.

Russia, which holds friendly ties with Cuba, said Monday that Havana’s fuel situation was “truly critical” and that U.S. attempts to further pressure the country were causing numerous problems.

“The situation in Cuba is truly critical. We know this. We are in intensive contact with our Cuban friends through diplomatic and other channels. Indeed, let’s say the U.S.’s stranglehold is causing many difficulties for the country,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, according to state news outlet RIA Novosti.

Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, previously said the country’s leadership condemned Washington’s tariff threats in the “strongest possible terms.”

In a statement posted on Jan. 30, Parrilla also accused the U.S. government of resorting to “blackmail and coercion in an attempt to make other countries to join its universally condemned blockade policy against Cuba.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week that her government would aim to send humanitarian aid to Cuba from Monday, adding that the country is working to find a diplomatic solution to resume oil shipments to the Caribbean island.

Mexico had paused shipments of crude and refined products to Cuba amid pressure from the Trump administration.