Cuba runs out of diesel and fuel oil

{"text":[[{"start":6.35,"text":"Protests erupted overnight in Cuba after the government said it had run out of diesel and fuel oil, the energy supplies essential to its power generation."}],[{"start":15.049999999999999,"text":"Energy minister Vicente de la O Levy blamed US President Donald Trump’s near-total energy blockade of the communist island over the past four months for the crisis."}],[{"start":25.4,"text":"“We have absolutely no fuel [oil] and absolutely no diesel,” he said on Wednesday in remarks carried on state-run media. “We have no reserves.”"}],[{"start":35.099999999999994,"text":"On Thursday afternoon, Cuba’s national grid operator UNE, said that power was gradually being restored following an hours-long blackout across much of the island’s eastern provinces."}],[{"start":47.449999999999996,"text":"De la O Levy acknowledged that nationwide power cuts had deepened, with many neighbourhoods lacking power for up to 22 hours. Power outages, sometimes lasting entire days, are a common reality for the vast majority of Cubans."}],[{"start":63.05,"text":"Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the country’s energy situation “particularly tense”, writing in a post on X that he blamed the “dramatic worsening” on the “genocidal US blockade”. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":75.25,"text":"Images shared on social media showed protests had broken out overnight in the capital, Havana, with residents banging pots and pans and burning blockades in the streets. There were reports of clashes with police."}],[{"start":88.15,"text":"Havana’s long reliance on Venezuelan oil supplies — which it traded for Cuban doctors and spies — was severed in January when US troops snatched hardline leader Nicolás Maduro."}],[{"start":99.95,"text":"Blaming the “failures of Cuba’s corrupt regime” for the island’s woes, the US state department on Wednesday said it was reiterating its “generous” offer to provide $100mn in “critical life-saving” humanitarian aid, but that the Cuban government had refused its help."}],[{"start":116.7,"text":"Mexico delivered one oil cargo to Cuba on January 9 but later halted shipments under pressure from Trump. In late January, the US president threatened tariffs on countries that supplied Cuba as Washington has intensified its pressure to bring about regime change. "}],[{"start":132.05,"text":"The sole delivery to Cuba since then has been one shipment of 700,000 barrels of Russian crude in March, which offered a temporary lifeline for a nation limping from blackout to blackout. "}],[{"start":144.5,"text":"Trump has said he could mount a “friendly takeover” of Cuba and has begun talks to press the regime to liberalise its economy, reform its government and free political prisoners. The US is also seeking compensation for property seized following Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. "}],[{"start":162.05,"text":"Cuba has said it is open to discussing democracy, human rights, business and co-operation with the US on migration and drug trafficking but insists its political, legal, social and economic systems are not on the table."}],[{"start":175.4,"text":"Cuba produces about 40 per cent of the oil needed to supply national demand and China has donated solar panels, alleviating some of the power crunch."}],[{"start":184.85,"text":"On Tuesday, the Cuban government ended price caps on petrol after in February allowing the private sector to import some fuel. Prices had been set at about $1.30 a litre for premium petrol, which often fetches more than $8 on the black market. Many drivers have left their vehicles idle for months."}],[{"start":203.6,"text":"The oil blockade has provoked critical shortages and severe rationing in a country suffering the effects of decades of US sanctions."}],[{"start":212.5,"text":"The struggling tourism industry — a vital hard-currency earner — has been decimated as airlines have grounded planes because of fuel shortages. Hospitals have cancelled surgeries, food distribution and rubbish collection services have been disrupted. "}],[{"start":232.9,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778812491_2193.mp3"}