Cubans fear deeper crisis as Venezuela oil lifeline is choked off
Cubans are bracing for even tougher times after the United States seized two more Venezuela linked oil tankers, threatening to cut a key source of fuel to the island.The seizures come just days after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, raising the risk that Venezuelan crude supplies to Cuba could shrink further or stop. In the port city of Matanzas, shuttered filling stations and long queues for petrol already reflect worsening shortages.Residents fear longer and more frequent power cuts, saying the loss of Venezuelan oil will deepen an economic crisis marked by high inflation, blackouts and shortages of basic goods. Venezuela had recently supplied about 27000 barrels of oil per day to Cuba, covering roughly half of the country’s fuel deficit.Mexico and Russia have become important secondary suppliers, but Mexico’s president says her country has not increased shipments, limiting […]
