Cubans fear return to 90s austerity amid cuts

Havana awoke on Thursday to long lines at gas stations and public transportation stops after President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned the country to expect fuel shortages and blackouts that he blamed on US sanctions.

The fuel crisis immediately raised fears of a return to the extreme austerity of the 1990s "Special Period" following the collapse of its main benefactor, the Soviet Union.

"I'm worried. Terrified!" said Katia Morfa, 36, as she took her seven-year-old daughter to school. "When they announce these kinds of measures, it gives us Cubans chills from head to toe. It's inevitable that we think of the dark and very sad days of the Special Period," Morfa told AFP.

In a televised address late Wednesday, Diaz-Canel said the "low availability of diesel" will affect transportation, power generation and distribution of merchandise. He said no fuel had arrived in the country since Tuesday and the situation will persist until Saturday when an oil tanker is expected to arrive in port.

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on various companies for transporting Venezuelan oil to Cuba.

Diaz-Canel accused the United States of acting "with greater aggression towards Cuba." But in a bid to calm fears, he insisted the shortages did not mean the country had entered "a Special Period."
Her voice broke when she spoke about the ordeal she went through at her daughter's Lucia's age. "Power cuts that lasted for hours... poor nutrition, lacking everything... diseases. I don't want Lucia to live like that."