Piles of trash in Cuba
Via Reuters
Ongoing U.S. sanctions against Cuba have pushed the Caribbean nation into a state of crisis. The Trump administration's cutoff of oil shipments to the island has escalated the already precarious situation to levels rarely seen before, and with each passing day the crisis appears to deteriorate.
As the Miami Herald reported, food and gas prices have surged in a matter of days, with a package of chicken now costing a month's salary, 5,000 Cuban pesos, or about $208, while a liter of gas has climbed to 3,800 pesos, roughly $158.
Conditions in Cuba have deteriorated to the point that in the town of Velasco, a man was buried in a cardboard box and transported to the cemetery in a wheelbarrow due to shortages of wooden coffins and fuel.
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In the province of Holguín, the Miami Herald reported that residents are cooking with wood and coal outside their homes, while in Havana entire streets and neighborhoods are covered in rotting garbage piles that have not been collected in months.
The state-run outlet Cubadebate reported earlier this month that only 44 of Havana's 106 garbage trucks remain in operation because of fuel shortages.
"It's all over the city," said Jose Ramon Cruz, a local resident. "It's been more than 10 days since a garbage truck came."
As the United States continues blocking oil shipments to the island in hopes of pressuring political change, Jorge Piñón, head of the University of Texas' Latin America and Caribbean Energy Program, warned that Cuba's oil reserves could dry up within weeks.
"Cuba's electric power sector is totally collapsed," he said. "If by March you don't see an oil cargo ship on the horizon coming either into Havana or Cienfuegos, they will have reached 'zero,'" Piñón said.
Before the Trump administration intensified sanctions on the island, Cubans were already facing extreme poverty and widespread shortages. As living conditions continue to deteriorate, Cuban leaders have vowed to resist and have approved another round of severe austerity measures for the population to endure.
For Sebastian Arcos, interim director of Florida International University's Cuba Research Institute, the Cuban government is in a phase of denial.
"They cannot accept that the strategic situation has changed and that things are different, and they're not going back to what they used to be. This is the first stage of grief," Arcos said, as reported by the Miami Herald.
Concerns about a humanitarian crisis have spread internationally. As reported by the Miami Herald, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he is "very concerned" about the situation, with spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric telling reporters that U.N. teams are working with the Cuban government to support humanitarian relief efforts.
"The secretary-general would like to see all parties pursue dialogue and respect for international law yet again," he said.
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Tags: Cuba, United States, Latin America