Russia Mulls Cuba Aid as U.S. Pressure Worsens Energy Crisis
Sharply reduced oil deliveries — the result of American sanctions and mounting restrictions on suppliers — have pushed Cuba to the edge of an economic breaking point.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday following a government briefing to the State Duma, Novak revealed that proposals were actively being deliberated at the cabinet level. "The intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Cuba is dealing with this," he stated.
The depth of the crisis is reflected in a sweeping series of emergency measures now in effect across the island. Cuban authorities have imposed a four-day workweek on state enterprises, restricted fuel sales, slashed inter-provincial bus and rail services, and temporarily shuttered select tourist facilities. Airlines operating out of Cuba have been placed on notice that aviation fuel supplies will be suspended for one month — a development that has already forced long-haul flights to make unplanned refueling stops at airports in neighboring countries.
The fuel crunch accelerated sharply in early January, when US forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, severing Caracas's oil exports to Havana — a supply line the import-dependent island had long relied upon. President Donald Trump has openly praised the strategy of economic isolation, framing it as leverage to extract concessions from Cuba's government.
Last month, Trump accused Havana of aligning with "hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups and malign actors," warning that sustained economic pressure would force Cuba to "want to make a deal." He further threatened a military intervention modeled on the Venezuela operation, claiming American forces could seize Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel "without it being very tough." Havana swiftly rejected the threats, insisting that any negotiations must proceed on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
On the international stage, Russian President Vladimir Putin has emerged as one of Cuba's most vocal defenders. At a meeting in Moscow last week with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Putin denounced what he described as the US "blockade" of Cuba, calling the restrictions "completely unacceptable." Parrilla, in turn, expressed Havana's gratitude for Russia's "extraordinary and unwavering solidarity."
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