Cuba announced this Saturday the cancellation of its Habano Festival, which brings several million euros every year thanks to one renowned auctionat a time when the country suffers a very serious energy crisis.
Cuba faces one of its worst crises
“The organizing committee of the Havana Festival announces the postponement of its next edition”, scheduled for February 24 to 27, points out a letter sent to the participants, of which AFP obtained a copy. A new date has not yet been announced.
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The organizers added that the decision seeks to preserve the highest standards of quality, excellence and experience that characterize this international event, and which is considered the most prestigious in the world in its specialty.
The Habano Festival, which brings together fans, commercial representatives and specialized journalists from all over the worldincludes an auction of luxury cigars and humidors that generates several million euros annually for the Cuban government.
In 2025, this auction, held in front of 2,000 guests, raised more than 16 million euros. In the two previous years it had obtained 17 million and 11 million euros respectively.
The funds raised They are officially destined for the health sector.
In 2024, sales of Cuban cigars reached $827 million. This is a crucial sector for the island’s economy, which is suffering its worst crisis in three decades, now aggravated by an energy strangulation by the United States.
The figures for 2025 were to be announced in this 26th edition.
Last week, Cuba adopted a package of restrictive measures to save electricity and fuel in order to preserve basic services and key sectors of the economy, such as tobacco.
Tourism falls due to sanctions
Tourism, the second largest source of foreign currency after sending health professionals abroad, is already severely affected by the energy crisis.
About thirty hotels have closed to conserve the country’s energy resources, and airlines from Canada and Russia They decided to suspend their flights due to lack of fuel to refuel the planes on the island.
Cuba, with 9.6 million inhabitants, stopped receiving oil from its main ally Venezuela after the fall of Nicolás Maduro in a US military incursion on January 3.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba.
Havana accuses the president of wanting to “suffocate” the national economy, which has been subject to a United States embargo since 1962.
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