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Air Canada said Monday it is suspending service to Cuba because of a shortage of aviation fuel on the island. Canada's largest airline said it took the decision after the Cuban government announced aviation fuel would not be available at Cuban airports as of Tuesday. Cuba has been facing a worsening energy crisis amid a US blockade of oil to the Caribbean nation. Canadian tourism is vital to Cuba's economy. Global Affairs Canada, a governmental office, has said Canada is Cuba's second-largest source of direct investment to the island, particularly in the mining and tourism sectors, which have never fully recovered from the pandemic slump. Air Canada said that in the coming days it will send empty flights southbound to pick up approximately 3,000 customers to bring them home. Air Transat and West Jet/Sunwing both say they intend to continue flights as planned despite the fuel announcement. Air Canada says its flight suspension begins Monday.
The US government on Thursday announced an additional USD 6 million in aid for Cuba as the island's crisis deepens and tensions escalate between the two countries, with Cuba's president accusing the US of an "energy blockade." The aid is largely meant for those living in Cuba's eastern region, which Hurricane Melissa slammed into late last year. The supplies include rice, beans, pasta, cans of tuna and solar lamps that will be delivered by the Catholic Church and Caritas, said US Department of State Senior Official Jeremy Lewin. He warned that officials with the US embassy in Cuba will be out in the field "making sure that the regime does not take the assistance, divert it, try to politicise it." The US previously sent USD 3 million in disaster relief to Cuban people affected by Melissa. Lewin rejected that a halt in oil shipments from Venezuela -- after the US attacked the South American country and arrested its then leader -- is responsible for the humanitarian situation in Cuba.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Sunday she plans to send humanitarian aid to Cuba this week, including food and other humanitarian aid. Sheinbaum's comments came after US President Donald Trump said he asked the Mexican leader to suspend oil shipments to the Caribbean island. Sheinbaum said at a public event in the northern state of Sonora that she did not discuss Cuban affairs in a phone conversation with Trump on Thursday. She added that her government seeks to " diplomatically solve everything related to the oil shipments (to Cuba) for humanitarian reasons." Earlier, Trump told reporters that he told the Mexican president not to send oil to Cuba. Following the US military operation carried out in early January to remove Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, the South American nation suspended oil shipments to Cuba, which had been declining in recent years. Mexico then became the main supplier of crude oil and refined products to Havana. Mexican oil has long acte
President Donald Trump said the US was beginning to talk with Cuban leaders as his administration is putting greater pressure on the communist-run island and cutting off key oil supplies. The Republican president made the comment to reporters on Saturday night as he was flying to Florida. It comes in the wake of his moves in recent weeks to cut off supplies of oil from Venezuela and Mexico, which he suggested Saturday would force Cuba to the negotiating table. His goals with Cuba remain unclear, but Trump has turned more of his attention toward the island after his administration in early January captured Venezuela's then-President Nicolas Maduro and has been more aggressive in confronting nations that are adversaries of the US. Trump has predicted that the Cuban government is ready to fall. He did not offer any details on Saturday about what level of outreach his administration has had with Cuba recently or when, but simply said, "We're starting to talk to Cuba." His recent moves
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that puts pressure on Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that her government had at least temporarily stopped oil shipments to Cuba, but said it was a "sovereign decision" not made under pressure from the United States. Trump has been squeezing Mexico to distance itself from the Cuban government.
The names, ranks and ages of the 32 Cuban military personnel killed during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces were published Tuesday by the Cuban government, which announced two days of mourning. Among the deceased are colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains, as well as some reserve soldiers, ranging in age from 26 to 60. The uniformed personnel belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, Cuba's two main security agencies. The publication did not specify their missions or exactly how they died. Cuban state media published their details and headshots, which show them clad in olive-green military uniforms. In a statement Sunday, Cuban authorities acknowledged the deaths of the personnel who were in the South American nation as part of agreements between the two countries. Our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism, falling after fierce resistance in direct combat against the attackers, or as a result
Cuban Ambassador to India Juan Carlos Marsan Aguilera on Monday strongly condemned the US military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, terming it a "criminal act" and a "terrorist act" that violates the United Nations Charter and international law. In an exclusive interview with PTI Videos here, Aguilera emphasised that no single nation can stop the United States from such unilateral actions and called for the world to unite forces to counter what he described as Washington's "madness" in international policy. "This US military aggression towards Venezuela, in my opinion, is a criminal act. It's a terrorist act because it violates all the principles contained in the United Nations Charter and international law. It is a unilateral action against a sovereign country," the ambassador said. Highlighting broader US actions, including tariff wars, threats to Iran and military strikes, the ambassador stressed the need for global unity.
Cuban officials on Monday lowered flags before dawn to mourn 32 security officers they say were killed in the US weekend strike in Venezuela, the island nation's closest ally, as residents here wonder what the capture of President Nicols Maduro means for their future. The two governments are so close that Cuban soldiers and security agents were often the Venezuelan president's bodyguards, and Venezuela's petroleum has kept the economically ailing island limping along for years. Cuban authorities over the weekend said the 32 had been killed in the surprise attack but have given no further details. The Trump administration has warned outright that toppling Maduro will help advance another decades-long goal: Dealing a blow to the Cuban government. Severing Cuba from Venezuela could have disastrous consequences for its leaders, who on Saturday called for the international community to stand up to state terrorism. On Saturday, Trump said the ailing Cuban economy will be further battere
An American military operation in Venezuela killed 32 Cuban officers over the weekend, the Cuban government said Sunday in the first official acknowledgement of the deaths. The Cuban military and police officers were on a mission the Caribbean country's military was carrying out at the request of Venezuela's government, according to a statement read on Cuban state TV on Sunday night. What the Cubans were working on in the South American nation was unclear, but Cuba is a close ally of Venezuela's government has sent military and police forces to assist in operations for years. You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday, US President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew Sunday night from Florida back to Washington. There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side. Cuba's government announced two days of mourning. Faithful to their responsibilities for security and defence, our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism and f
The Biden administration on Tuesday is notifying Congress of its intent to lift the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House announced, as part of a deal facilitated by the Catholic Church to free political prisoners on the island. Senior US administration officials, who previewed the announcement on the condition of anonymity, said "many dozens" of political prisoners and others considered by the US to be unjustly detained would be released by the end of the Biden administration at noon on January 20. The US would also ease some economic pressure on Cuba, as well as a 2017 memorandum issued by then-president Donald Trump toughening US posture toward Cuba. The determination by the outgoing one-term Democrat is likely to be reversed as early as next week after Trump, the Republican who is now president-elect, takes office and Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio assumes the position of America's top diplomat. Rubio, whose family left Cuba in the 19
The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to condemn the American economic embargo of Cuba for the 30th year, with the Biden administration continuing former President Donald Trump's opposition and refusing to return to the Obama administration's 2016 abstention. The vote in the 193-member General Assembly was 185 countries supporting the condemnation, the United States and Israel opposing it, and Brazil and Ukraine abstaining. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said before the vote that since 2019, the US government has escalated the siege around our country, taking it to an even crueler and more humane dimension, with the purpose of deliberately inflicting the biggest possible damage on Cuban families. During the first 14 months of the Biden administration, the damage to the Cuban economy was estimated at USD 6.35 billion, equivalent to more than USD 15 million a day, Rodriguez said. Thursday's 185-2 vote was similar to previous years. The General Assembly's v
Cuba's deputy foreign minister accused the Biden administration of acting immorally, illegitimately and unfairly by keeping Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, claiming it has been a victim of state-sponsored terrorism by the United States for more than 60 years. Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said in an interview with The Associated Press that maintaining Cuba on the State Department blacklist with North Korea, Iran and Syria is an easy way to punish Cuba with the overall aim of trying to make Cuba what it is not to make Cuba a failed state. The U.S. unfortunately pays no price for doing something that is illegitimate, unsustainable and immoral, he said. And even though, speaking with government officials, they find no reason why Cuba should be in the list, they claim that it is politically difficult for them. The United States imposed an economic embargo on Cuba in 1960 following the revolution led by Fidel Castro and the nationalisation of properties belonging to U.S.