Cuba Crisis Coming to a Head

Feb. 14—Both Russian and Canadian airlines have announced that over the next two weeks they will evacuate tourists from their respective countries who are in Cuba, because of the shortage of jet fuel on the island. Both countries are sending in empty jets to ferry their tourists home. Russia reportedly has some 4,000 tourists in Cuba at this time. Business Insider reports that “the announcements came after Cuban aviation authorities warned on Monday that the island would not have jet fuel available at international airports for a month.”

At the same time, RT reports that “Russia is preparing to send a shipment of oil and petroleum products to Cuba, Moscow’s embassy in Havana has announced…. The embassy said it is planning to send oil and petroleum products to Cuba in the near future as ‘humanitarian aid,’ though without specifying the timeframe or volumes.”

How that would work, given U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that tariffs will be imposed on anyone sending oil to Cuba, is not clear. Sources close to the White House say that Trump does not want to impose a blockade that might have the U.S. Navy intercept and stop such shipments, especially if the Russians chose to provide it with naval protection.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about this at a press conference, and he responded that “We wouldn’t want any escalation, but on the other hand, we don’t have much trade right now” with the U.S. He added that Moscow seeks to engage in “constructive dialogue” with the U.S. over Cuba’s deepening energy crisis. “It’s clear that it’s impossible to discuss these issues in such a public manner right now for obvious reasons.” It is known that the White House has sought such dialogue on its issues Havana, however no meetings have taken place yet.