European and Latin American embassies in Cuba are reportedly activating or updating evacuation plans as the regime teeters on the brink of collapse and the U.S. escalates pressure with tariffs on countries selling or sending oil to the country.
Spanish agency EFE reported on the plans, adding that some are also stocking up to go through long periods without power or running water. To further illustrate the scenario the outlet noted that British company Unilever has evacuated the families of foreign workers in the country.
The development comes as a report from the Financial Times claimed that the country has less than a month worth of oil at current levels of demand and domestic production.
Citing data company Kpler, the outlet noted that the country has oil to last 15 to 20 days unless deliveries resume. "They have a major crisis on their hands" Jorge Piñon, an oil expert at the University of Texas told the outlet.
The country has only received less than 85,000 barrels this year, according to the FT. All came from a shipment on January 9, Kpler detailed. The figure adds to an estimated 460,000 barrels held in inventories at the beginning of the year.
Cuba relied on oil from Venezuela and Mexico, but shipments from the former stopped following the capture of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, and the latter is seeing an impact as well.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that her administration intends to continue sending oil to the country on humanitarian grounds. However, the tariffs could deter her administration from moving forward with the policy.
The Cuban regime slammed the move, with Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez calling it a "brutal act of aggression."
In a social media publication, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Havana "condemns in the strongest terms the U.S.'s new escalation."
"Now it is seeking to impose a total blockade to our country's fuel supplies," Rodriguez added. "The U.S. is also resorting to blackmail and coercion to try to get other countries to join its universally condemned blockade of Cuba and, should they refuse, are threatened with arbitrary and abusive tariffs that violate all free trade rules," he added.
Cuba is already experiencing economic collapse. According to a recent poll, over three in four Cubans intend to flee the country. The survey was conducted by the Social Rights Observatory during the summer and reported by the Wall Street Journal as part of a broader piece about the country's crumbling economy.
Originally published on Latin Times
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