After two decades of relative stability fueled by cheap Venezuelan oil, shortages of food and medicine have once again become a serious daily problem for millions of Cubans.
Pura Castell walks to a government-run butcher shop to buy chicken, after failing to find chicken the previous day in Bauta, Cuba, Friday, April 12, 2019. A neighbor informed her that chicken had arrived at the government store that distributes almost free monthly food rations.
A plunge in aid from Venezuela, the end of a medical services deal with Brazil and poor performances in sectors including nickel mining, sugar and tourism have left the communist state $1.5 billion in debt to the vendors that supply products ranging from frozen chicken to equipment for grinding grain into flour, according to former Economy Minister José Luis Rodríguez.
Two days later, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said cutbacks were necessary because: “This harsh moment demands we set clearly defined priorities in order to not return to the worst moments of the special period.” A senior Trump administration official said the economic pressure on Cuba was aimed at forcing the socialist government to stop helping its allies in Venezuela and Nicaragua. The U.S. has accused Cuba of sending soldiers and spies to both countries to strengthen their leaders against protests and potential defection. Cuba denies that.
The agricultural sector is in shambles, requiring the country to import most of its food. Economy Minister Alejandro Gil said Saturday that Cuba would spend $5 billion on food and petroleum products this year.
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