{"id":12148,"date":"2026-02-14T03:13:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T03:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12148"},"modified":"2026-02-14T03:13:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T03:13:03","slug":"fire-at-havana-oil-refinery-as-cubas-fuel-crisis-deepens-humanitarian-crises-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12148","title":{"rendered":"Fire at Havana oil refinery as Cuba\u2019s fuel crisis deepens | Humanitarian Crises News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>A fire at a key fuel refinery in the capital comes amid Cuba\u2019s mounting fuel emergency due to US-imposed restrictions.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/1747788086488-1748902760.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 14 Feb 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">14 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>A fire broke out at a key fuel processing plant in the Cuban capital Havana, threatening to exacerbate an energy crisis as the country struggles under an oil blockade imposed by the United States.<\/p>\n<p>A large plume of smoke was seen rising above Havana Bay from the Nico Lopez refinery on Friday, drawing the attention of the capital\u2019s residents before fading as fire crews fought to bring the situation under control.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Cuba\u2019s Ministry of Energy and Mines said the fire, which erupted in a warehouse at the refinery, was eventually extinguished and that \u201cthe cause is under investigation\u201d. There were no injuries and the fire did not spread to nearby areas, the ministry said in a post on social media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe workday at the Nico Lopez Refinery continues with complete normalcy,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed-figure\" aria-label=\"The ministry's post on X explained that the workday at the \u00d1ico L\u00f3pez Refinery continued with complete normalcy after the fire was quickly brought under control. There were no injuries, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the causes.\">\n<\/figure>\n<p>The location of the fire was close to where two oil tankers were moored in Havana\u2019s harbour.<\/p>\n<p>Cuba, which has been in a severe economic crisis for years, relied heavily on oil imports from Venezuela, which have been cut off since the abduction of the country\u2019s leader Nicolas Maduro by United States forces last month.<\/p>\n<p>US President Donald Trump has also threatened Cuba\u2019s government and passed a recent executive order allowing for trade tariffs on any country that supplies oil to the island.<\/p>\n<p>The country has seen widespread power outages due to the lack of fuel. Bus and train services have been cut, some hotels have closed, schools and universities have been restricted, and public sector workers are on a four-day work week. Staffing at hospitals was also cut back.<\/p>\n<p>United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned last week of a humanitarian \u201ccollapse\u201d in Cuba if its energy needs go unmet.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4312466\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4312466\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4312466\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AFP__20260213__97GD2TL__v1__HighRes__CubaOilFire-1771034428.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"column of smoke rising from the Nico Lopez refinery in Havana Bay, though it was not known if the blaze was near the plant\u0092s oil storage tanks. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE \/ AFP)\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4312466\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Men fish as black smoke billows from a fire at the Nico Lopez oil refinery in Havana on February 13, 2026 [Yamil Lage\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On Thursday, two Mexican navy vessels carrying more than 800 tonnes of humanitarian aid arrived in Havana, underscoring the nation\u2019s growing need for humanitarian assistance amid the tightening US stranglehold on fuel.<\/p>\n<p>Experts in maritime transport tracking told the AFP news agency that no foreign fuel or oil tankers have arrived in Cuba in weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Cuba can only produce about one-third of its total fuel requirements.<\/p>\n<p>Cuba\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos de Cossio accused the US of carrying out \u201cmassive punishment\u201d against the Cuban people in a post on social media Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Cuba requires imports of fuel and \u201cthe US is applying threats [and] coercive measures against any country that provides it\u201d, the deputy minister said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLack of fuel harms transportation, medical services, schooling, energy, production of food, the standard of living,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMassive punishment is a crime,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Mexico\u2019s President Claudia Sheinbaum has said her government seeks to \u201copen the doors for dialogue to develop\u201d between Cuba and the US and has criticised Washington\u2019s oil restrictions as \u201cunfair\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A fire at a key fuel refinery in the capital comes amid Cuba\u2019s mounting fuel emergency due to US-imposed restrictions. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Published On 14 Feb 202614 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A fire broke out at a key fuel processing plant in the Cuban [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}