Cuba Postpones Annual Cigar Fair As U.s. Oil Embargo Causes Fuel Shortages, Blackouts

HAVANA — Cuba’s yearly cigar fair, which was group to beryllium held nan past week of February, has been postponed, organizers said Saturday, arsenic nan land faces blackouts and terrible substance shortages brought astir by a U.S. lipid embargo.

The cigar fair’s organizer, Habanos S.A., said successful a connection it decided to postpone nan iconic arena to “preserve its precocious modular of quality.”

Habanos S.A., a associated task betwixt nan state-owned institution Cubatabaco and world patient Altadis, holds a world monopoly connected Cuban cigar sales.

Every year, nan institution hosts nan yearly Habanos Festival, a cardinal arena for cigar aficionados and distributors worldwide, wherever attendees circuit baccy plantations, participate successful auctions and witnesser nan latest successful craftsmanship.

The connection by Habanos S.A. did not group a caller day for nan 26th version of nan cigar fair.

Last year, nan arena closed pinch an auction successful which $18 cardinal was paid for a batch of highly coveted, hand-rolled cigars. The institution reported grounds income of $827 cardinal successful 2025.

Several taste events, including a book fair, person been postponed successful Cuba this period arsenic nan land grapples pinch nan astir terrible substance shortages and powerfulness blackouts successful years.

In precocious January, President Trump threatened to enforce tariffs connected immoderate state that sold lipid to Cuba, arsenic Washington puts much unit connected nan island’s communist activity to instrumentality governmental and economical reforms.

Cuba imports astir 60% of its power supply, and had agelong relied connected Venezuela and Mexico for overmuch of its oil.

But shipments from Venezuela were canceled successful January aft nan ouster and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro successful a U.S. subject raid, a move that besides resulted successful Washington asserting oversight of Venezuela’s lipid industry.

Shipments from Mexico stopped successful mid-February aft Trump’s tariff threat.

This week, 3 Canadian airlines canceled flights to Cuba aft nan island’s authorities announced location would beryllium nary pitchy substance for planes seeking to refuel astatine Cuban airports. Other airlines person maintained their flights to nan land but will beryllium refueling their planes pinch stopovers successful nan Dominican Republic.

The substance shortages person besides wounded tourism connected nan island, pinch immoderate agencies canceling trips arsenic nan authorities shuts down immoderate hotels and relocates visitors successful an effort to prevention electricity.

Tabacuba, a state-run baccy company, lamented nan postponement of this year’s cigar adjacent successful a statement, saying it had travel astir owed to “the analyzable economical business that nan federation is facing, arsenic a consequence of nan intensification of nan economic, commercialized and financial blockade” imposed by nan United States.

Rodriguez writes for nan Associated Press.