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Cuba faces fuel shortage
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IANS | 12 Sep, 2019
President Miguel Diaz-Canel acknowledged that Cuba is facing fuel
shortages, but insisted the island will not experience a repeat of the
severe economic hardships of the 1990s.
"We are not in a special
period," he told Cubans in a nationally televised address on Wednesday,
using the common shorthand for the slump the island endured as a result
of the end of subsidies from Moscow following the dissolution of the
Soviet Union in 1991, Efe news reported.
Fuel shipments to Cuba were interrupted Tuesday and are not expected to resume until the weekend, the president said.
The
main problem is a shortage of diesel, which fuels the Cuban bus fleet
and most of the island's power plants, Diaz-Canel said, while vowing
that the electricity will remain on.
In view of the "temporary
situation," the Cuban government and people must take steps to conserve
energy, he said. The president also urged people to report any instances
of fuel theft or hoarding.
Diaz-Canel placed the blame for the
interruption of supplies squarely on the United States, accusing
Washington of "acting with greater aggressiveness toward Cuba" in the
hope of making life worse for ordinary people to trigger a "social
explosion."
President Donald Trump has tightened the decades-old
US economic embargo on Cuba and is targeting Havana over its alliance
with the leftist government in Venezuela, which Washington is trying to
topple.
In a bid to hit two birds with one stone, the Trump
administration has imposed sanctions on shipping companies that carry
Venezuelan oil to Cuba.
Seeking to reassure the populace,
Diaz-Canel said that Cuba produces 40 percent of the petroleum it needs,
enough to keep power plants running and avert blackouts.
Lines
have been seen at Havana service stations over the past few days. Some
stations have shut down entirely, while others have run out of diesel.
The
public transit company has suspended service on a number of bus routes
and there are more pedestrians on the streets than usual.
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| Customs Exchange Rates |
| Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
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78.25
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75.65 |
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58.85 |
56.85 |
| As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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