Trump’s suffocation forces Cuba to extend the lack of fuel for planes due to the oil siege until April

“JET A1 FUEL NOT AVBL” (fuel for A1 aircraft not available), says the Notam message (notice to aviators) encoded as it currently appears in the database of the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The affected airports are José Martí of Havana (west), the Juan Gualberto Gómez of Varadero (west), the Jaime González of Cienfuegos (center), the Abel Santamaría of Santa Clara (center), the Ignacio Agramonte of Camagüey (center), the Jardines del Rey of Cayo Coco (center), the Frank País of Holguín (east), the Antonio Maceo of Santiago de Cuba (east) and the Sierra Maestra of Manzanillo (east).

Following the first announcement of this type, all Canadian and Russian airlines temporarily canceled their connections with the island; while the Spanish, Mexican and Panamanian companies introduced technical scales and, in some cases, reduced frequencies.

The lack of fuel has meant a strong obstacle for the Cuban tourism sectorwhich was an economic engine for the island, but has been declining for years.

Canada and Russia are also the first two markets that send international travelers to the country.

On January 29, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that threatened tariffs on countries that supplied oil to Cuba, after alleging that the island was a national security danger for his country.

The decision was one more twist to the energy pressure on Cuba that began on January 3, when after the military operation that concluded with the capture of the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, the US announced the end of oil supplies from that South American country to the island.

Trump then urged Havana to negotiate “before it is too late.” The Cuban Government assured that it is open to a dialogue with Washington, although it has denied on several occasions that they are already immersed in talks.

Cuba produces only a third of its energy needs. For the rest resorted to imports from Venezuela (which in 2025 accounted for around 30% of the total) and, to a lesser extent, from Mexico and Russia.