Cuba refuses to let U.S. Embassy in Havana import diesel for its generators

The Cuban government has refused a request by the U.S. Embassy in Havana to allow it to import diesel for its generators while the Trump administration continues to impose a fuel blockade on the island, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said Friday.

The government turned down the request as the U.S. State Department has been weighing a reduction in staffing at the embassy in the Cuban capital of Havana because of the lack of diesel. Such a move would likely lead to a U.S. demand for a similar reduction in staffing at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, say the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

The Cuban government rejection was first reported by The Washington Post.

The White House, State Department and Cuban Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cuba has struggled with dwindling oil since the U.S. removed Venezuela’s leader, halting critical petroleum shipments from the nation that had been a steadfast ally to Havana. President Donald Trump then threatened tariffs on any country selling or supplying Cuba with oil.

The island is relying on its own natural gas, solar power and its own oil to run thermoelectric plants, but that hasn’t been enough to meet demand.

Many of the nation’s 11 million residents struggle to keep food from spoiling. Hospitals have canceled surgeries. The leading university has reduced classes due to the power outages and transportation shutdowns.

The standoff on diesel comes as Trump has been pressing for dramatic change in government led by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have also said they see the island nation as the next country where the U.S. can expand its influence.

They are demanding, in part, that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions.

The Trump administration is looking for Díaz-Canel to leave his position, The Associated Press previously reported. No detail has been offered about who the administration might like to see come to power.

Trump has for months suggested Cuba’s government is on the verge of collapse. After Cuba’s electric grid collapsed earlier this week, spurring an island-wide blackout, Trump told reporters he believed he’d soon have “the honor of taking Cuba.”

“Taking Cuba in some form … whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said. “They’re a very weakened nation right now.”

Trump has suggested that top Cuban leaders would be smart to avoid the fate of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was ousted in a U.S. military operation in January and whisked to New York to face federal drug conspiracy charges. Venezuela had been Cuba’s closest ally and provided it with heavily subsidized oil.

Any potential staffing reduction at the embassy is not expected to come immediately because the U.S. believes it has enough diesel in reserve to last for another month, according to one official.

There are limited options to tap into fuel reserves in Cuba, which are tightly controlled by the government.

For example, one of the officials said the Spanish Embassy in Havana has a significant excess of fuel and had offered it to other European embassies facing similar shortages, only to be denied permission to do so by Cuban authorities.

The Spanish Embassy’s reserves were boosted by the previous importation of diesel meant for Spanish-owned hotels on the island. Most, if not all, of those hotels are currently closed due to a lack of tourists visiting Cuba.

Díaz-Canel said last week that Cuba has held talks with the U.S. government. It marked the first time the Caribbean country had confirmed widespread speculation about discussions with the Trump administration in the midst of the Republican administration’s pressure campaign.

Humanitarian organizations began delivering aid to Cuba by air Friday, including solar panels, food and medicine.