Cuba is running out of gas. Last week, the government announced that to purchase gas, drivers needed to make an appointment using a smartphone app called “El Ticket.” The problem? Appointments are already booked up months in advance.
“I have [appointment] number 7,000 and something,” says Jorge Reyes, who downloaded the app on Monday. “When will I be able to buy gas again?”
Drivers can sign up only at one gas station at a time. Reyes signed up at a Havana gas station which offers 50 appointments per day. Customers may purchase just over five gallons at each appointment.
“This will not last me long,” says businessman Ariel Alonso while refueling. “I have to leave a reserve of five liters in case anyone gets sick at home” and has to be taken to the hospital.
One gallon of gas costs $4.92. In Cuba, government workers make less than $20 per month.
Most Cubans use public buses, bikes, or shared taxis. But with gas shortages, some buses have stopped running, leaving residents stranded.
Cuba produces enough oil to cover about 40% of the country’s consumption. Until this year, Cuba bought oil from Venezuela and Mexico to cover the rest of its need.
Venezuela stopped shipping oil to Cuba after the United States captured Venezuela’s president on January 3.
In late January, President Donald Trump announced that any country shipping oil to Cuba would face trade tariffs. The following week, Mexico stopped shipping oil to Cuba.
Trump has called Cuba a “failed nation” and a “humanitarian concern.” He said on Monday that his administration is in talks with Cuba. Experts think President Trump wants to pressure the Cuban government into making an economic deal.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel says that he is willing to negotiate with the United States “as equals” but will not relinquish any sovereignty. Cuba has been ruled by a single-party, communist dictatorship since 1959.
Along with rationing gas, the Cuban government seeks other ways to cut back on energy use. Airplanes flying to Cuba may no longer refuel in the country. Officials have canceled events and some hotels have closed. Many cities schedule blackouts.
The gas shortage makes life even harder in Cuba, which already faces food shortages and the worst economic crisis in decades.
“I’d be lying if I told you that I don’t want to leave the country,” says 16-year-old student Amanda Gómez. “We’re all thinking about leaving, from the youngest to the oldest.”
