The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a travel alert for Cuba, advising Irish citizens to avoid non-essential travel due to the “increasingly serious economic and humanitarian situation”.
It comes as several EU member states, alongside Canada and the UK, updated their travel advice to the Caribbean island country in recent weeks.
Cuba was heavily dependent on oil imports from Venezuela, which were cut off last month following the ousting of its president Nicolás Maduro by US forces.
A United Nations spokesman said last week the humanitarian situation in Cuba will worsen “if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet”.
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The country is now under its second-highest level of warning, the department said, adding that countries at this level have “serious and potentially life-threatening risks”.
“Our ability to provide consular assistance to Irish citizens in this location is extremely limited,” it said. Ireland does not have an embassy in Cuba.
Under its travel advice, which was updated last Wednesday, February 11th, the department noted that “challenges to the importation of fuel” are compounding issues with Cuba’s national grid, often resulting in prolonged power outages across the country.
These outages, which can sometimes last for more than 24 hours, are affecting water supply, lighting, refrigeration and communications, it said.
In response to the shortages, guests have been moved from the resorts they have booked to other hotels to maximise efficient use of available power.
Cuban authorities, meanwhile, have said that all nine of its international airports are without aviation fuel.
Airlines are cancelling some routes, with the UK government warning this risks visitors being unable to leave the country. Other airlines have maintained services by refuelling elsewhere in the Caribbean.
“Hospitals and clinics are also impacted, which may limit the availability of medical care,” the department said.
It advised those in Cuba to take necessary precautions, “including conserving water and food”.
“Our Embassy in Mexico is accredited to Cuba, and is in ongoing contact with the very small number of Irish citizens living there,” he said.
The cutting off of Venezuelan oil comes alongside a long-standing trade embargo that has been imposed by the US since 1960.
Late last month, US president Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing the US to impose additional tariffs on imports from any country that “directly or indirectly” provides oil to Cuba.
The department added that Ireland’s position on the embargo is “long-standing and clear”, saying it serves “no constructive purpose and has resulted in significant negative impacts for the Cuban people, over many years”.
“We have always said that we want to see the embargo lifted and consistently voted for UN resolutions calling for the ending of the embargo, most recently last October at the UN General Assembly.
“We have also long called for democratisation and political transition in Cuba; the Cuban government imposes severe restrictions on the basic human rights of its people, including freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly,” the spokesman said.
