 "For Cubans, the ongoing crisis has become increasingly difficult to endure. Photo: File")
Days after US President Donald Trump said that he could do anything with Cuba, and it would be an honour of taking the country, the Cuban government on Saturday rejected the US embassy’s request to import diesel fuel for its generators, while calling the request ‘shameless.’
According to a report in The Washington Post, the US embassy sought permission to import two containers of fuel from the United States. While the government initially didn’t decline the proposal, but the request was rejected once the shipment arrived.
Cuba has not been able to receive oil shipment from the past three months because of an effective US blockade. The country is facing massive power shortages. The island country is running on natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants. The depletion of fuel oil and diesel has forced two power plants in the country to shut down and has limited the generation of power at solar parks.
Rejected US embassy’s request
According to the report, the US embassy has relied on generators for power during frequent blackouts over the past 18 months. The administration’s blockade, intended to pressure the Cuban government into political concessions, has worsened the crisis.
Staff at the embassy has been consolidated into group housing to conserve fuel. Staffers at the embassy have also been asked to work remotely. As the Cuban government refuses to give approval for import, the embassy will soon need to draw staff down.
In a diplomatic note to the embassy, the ministry said the US’s fuel blockade was aimed at ‘causing the greatest possible harm to the Cuban economy, the well-being of the people, and their standard of living,’ as mentioned in the report.
“The Ministry interprets as shameless the claim by the diplomatic mission to access a good as a privilege that it denies to the Cuban people,” the ministry said.
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Cuba, which produces 40 per cent of its petroleum, has been trying to generate its own power, but it hasn’t been sufficient to meet the demand.
The lack of power has affected many sectors such as communications and education. The Government has had to postpone surgeries for tens of thousands of people as a result. “The impact is tremendous,” the President had previously said.
For Cubans, the ongoing crisis has become increasingly difficult to endure. Residents say reliable electricity and water are essential, and many hope that talks between Havana and Washington could eventually lead to solutions that improve living conditions on the island.