The US fuel blockade on Cuba has been “brutal” for its universities, the deputy minister for higher education has said, with operations heavily disrupted because of a lack of power.
Fuel imports have been prevented from reaching the Caribbean nation for the past four months as the Trump administration pushes for regime change in the country.
Cuba has now completely run out of diesel and fuel oil, with people left without energy for up to 20 hours a day. Protests have been held across the country in recent days.
Tensions with the US have increased after the former leader Raúl Castro was accused of murder over the downing of two US planes 30 years ago. Donald Trump has threatened to take military action, warning the country is a “national security threat”.
Minister Reynaldo Velázquez Zaldívar told Times Higher Education that the blockages have crippled the sector, with the government moving university classes online in February as part of efforts to conserve electricity.
