<\/p>\nListen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>4 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>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 aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The United States has said it will allow the resale of some Venezuelan oil to Cuba in a move that could ease the island\u2019s acute fuel shortages, as neighbouring countries raised the alarm over a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation caused by Washington\u2019s oil blockade.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement on Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury said it would authorise companies seeking licences to resell Venezuelan oil for \u201ccommercial and humanitarian use in Cuba\u201d.<\/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>It said the new \u201cfavorable licensing policy\u201d would not cover \u201cpersons or entities associated with the Cuban military, intelligence services, or other government institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Venezuela had been the main supplier of crude and fuel \u2060to Cuba for the past 25 years through a bilateral pact mostly based on the barter of products and services. But since the US abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last month and took control of the country\u2019s oil exports, Caracas\u2019s supply to Cuba has ceased.<\/p>\n<p>Mexico, which had emerged as an alternate supplier, also halted shipments to the Caribbean island after the US threatened tariffs on countries that send oil to Cuba. The US blockade has worsened an energy crisis in Cuba that is hitting power generation and fuel for vehicles, houses and aviation.<\/p>\n<p>The shift in US policy came as Caribbean leaders gathering in Saint Kitts and Nevis expressed alarm at the impacts of the blockade on the island nation of some 10.9 million people. Speaking to Caribbean leaders during a meeting of the regional political group CARICOM on Tuesday, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness affirmed solidarity with Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHumanitarian suffering serves no one,\u201d Holness said at the meeting. \u201cA prolonged crisis in Cuba will not remain confined to Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Caribbean summit\u2019s host, Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew, who studied in Cuba to be a doctor, said friends have told him of food scarcity and rubbish strewn in the streets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA destabilised Cuba will destabilise all of us,\u201d Drew said.<\/p>\n<p>But addressing the meeting in Saint Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the humanitarian crisis had been caused by the Cuban government\u2019s policies, not Washington\u2019s blockade.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio, whose parents migrated to the US from Cuba in 1956, warned that the sanctions would be snapped back if the oil winds up going to the government or military.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCuba needs to change. It needs to change dramatically because it is the only chance that it has to improve the quality of life for its people,\u201d Rubio told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>It is \u201ca system that\u2019s in collapse, and they need to make dramatic reforms\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio went on to blame economic mismanagement and the lack of a vibrant private sector for the dire situation in Cuba, which has been under communist rule since Fidel Castro\u2019s 1959 revolution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the worst economic climate Cuba has faced. And it is the authorities there, and that government, who are responsible for that,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n<p>The US pressure on Venezuela and Cuba \u2060has left several fuel cargoes undelivered since December, according to the Reuters news agency, contributing to the island\u2019s inability to keep the lights on and cars circulating. A Cuba-related vessel that loaded Venezuelan gasoline in early February at a port operated by state-run company PDVSA remained this week anchored in Venezuelan waters waiting for authorisation to set sail.<\/p>\n<p>Mexico and Canada have meanwhile announced they would be sending aid to Cuba, and Russia\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also said his government was discussing the possibility of providing fuel to the island.<\/p>\n<p>Separately on Wednesday, Cuba\u2019s Ministry of the Interior announced killing four people and wounding six others on board a Florida-registered speedboat that it said entered Cuban waters.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio told reporters it was not a US operation and that no US government personnel were involved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuffice it to say, it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that,\u201d he said. \u201c\u200aIt\u2019s not something that happens every day. It\u2019s something frankly that hasn\u2019t happened with Cuba in a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US eases oil embargo on Cuba as Caribbean neighbours warn worsening humanitarian crisis could destabilise region. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a04 mins info The United States has said it will allow the resale of some Venezuelan oil to Cuba in a move that could ease the island\u2019s acute fuel shortages, as neighbouring countries raised the alarm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13565","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=13565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}