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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Cuba's annual cigar fair postponed amid US oil blockade |
| 2026-02-15 |
| [DW] Cuba has been grappeling with worsening fuel shortages as the US prevents oil shipments to the island nation. Organizers did not immediately set a new date for the Habanos Festival. Cuba's annual Habanos cigar fair has been postponed, organizers said on Saturday. It comes as the Caribbean island struggles severe fuel shortages and power blackouts amid a US oil embargo. The iconic Habanos Festival is held yearly in the Cuban capital, Havana, and features an auction of luxury cigars and containers, with proceeds from it being donated to the Cuban health system. Last year, the auction generated over $18 million (€15 million). CUBA CRISIS DEEPENS AS US BLOCKADE STARVES IT OF OIL Habanos has a global monopoly on Cuban cigar sales. It is jointly owned by Cuban state tobacco company Cubatabaco and the Spain-based multinational Altadis. Last year, Habanos registered record sales of $827 million (€697 million). Several other cultural events have been postponed in Cuba this month due to fuel shortages. US OIL BLOCKADE THREATENS CUBA Cuba, which imports some 60% of its energy, has been increasingly struggling to import fuel as the United States has been working to cut it off from its traditional suppliers in recent months in an effort to bring about the collapse of the island's communist-run government. Oil deliveries from Cuba's main supplier, Venezuela, halted in December after US troops kidnapped Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and US President Donald Trump announced Washington would "run" the country's oil industry. On Monday, its second-biggest supplier, Mexico, announced it would stop sending oil to Cuba after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country to do so. Also this week, three Canadian airlines suspended flights to Cuba due to a lack of guaranteed fuel supply. Cuba has been under a US economic embargo since 1962. Washington also held sway over what countries Cuba could trade with for three decades prior. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2026-02-15 09:35 |