Cuba halts flights as jet fuel shortage deepens under Trump sanctions

Cuba’s communist-run government is facing its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

U.S. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up the pressure on the Caribbean island since the Jan. 3, military operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a long-time ally of Cuba’s government. Cuba said 32 of its citizens were killed in the attack.

Trump has since effectively cut Cuba off from Venezuelan oil, called its government “an unusual and extraordinary threat” and pledged to impose tariffs on any country that supplies it with oil.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the move and said: “Surrender is not an option.” He’s since said the government is prepared to hold talks with Washington, albeit “without pressure or preconditions.”

The country has warned that international airlines would no longer be able refuel in the country due to fuel shortages. Gripped by a worsening economic crisis, Cuba’s government recently adopted rationing measures to protect essential services and ration fuel supplies for key sectors.

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

“The current situation in Cuba is as serious as it has been since the 1990s, when Cuba suddenly had to survive without the support of the Eastern Bloc,” Par Kumaraswami, professor of Latin American Studies at the U.K.’s University of Nottingham, told CNBC by email.

Trump’s tariff threats have created a deterrent for many nations, Kumaraswami said.

Mexico has sent humanitarian aid but suspended oil shipments, as it sought to preserve its relationship with Havana while avoiding Trump’s tariffs.

Kumaraswami said there was “of course frustration with the difficulties of daily life,” but that “many Cubans are resolved to resist threats to their national sovereignty and a new wave of patriotism has emerged.”

Air Canada subsequently has canceled all flights to Cuba amid the fuel shortage, though the airline said Monday that it would bring some 3,000 customers already in the country home over the coming days.

Tourism is a significant source of revenue for Cuba’s cash-strapped government and the country is a popular winter vacation destination for Canadian tourists.

Unlike in previous crises, Cuba’s regime…