Trump Sanctions Leave Cubans Waiting Months Via App For A Measly 5 Gallons Of Gas

What Americans have considered a gas crisis truly holds no candle to the situation currently devastating Cuba. The country, known for roads full of old American classics, is struggling to keep the country running with less than half of its normal oil supply. If there is any fuel on the nation's island, Cubans have waited in line to get the gas not just physically, but via app. And the reward for their months of patience isn't even a full tank.

President Trump implemented sanctions against Cuba back in January that ensured the placement of tariffs on any products of any country that worked with Cuba in delivering oil. His reasoning? The president and his administration claim the country is a threat to American national security because of its relationships with China and Russia. More, Cuban officials believe its part of Trump's tactics to strongarm nations into changing political leadership, i.e. the types of moves he made in Venezuela as well as Iran.

According to the AP, just this week, while addressing new sanctions from the US Treasury Department on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, as well as people close to Castro's son and grandson, Trump said that the US would be "handling the situation" in Cuba after they've finished operations in Iran. Lucky, in some ways, for Cuba, the operations in Iran don't appear to be ending anytime soon. But the statement gives way to what Cuba could expect in the near future.

What that's meant for Cuba is the island nation has been further alienated from bringing in oil to run not only the transportation of its people but the power grid as well. Cuba is capable of producing about 40 percent of the fuel it consumes, and heavily depends on imports to keep things running. The shortage has led to grid blackouts for as much as 20 hours a day, as well as long lines literally and via app for island residents to get gas.

Cuba's solution was the implementation of an app called Ticket which allowed users to sign up for designated appointments to fill up at a gas station. When the AP reported on the app back in February, users were already facing substantial issues. For one, the app only allows you to register for an appointment at a single gas station, which may offer upwards of 90 appointments a day, so hopes to get gas anywhere comes down to signing up for the right gas station. WhatsApp chats have sprung up, specifically dedicated to helping users find stations that might have less demand for appointments. Initial signups would find users placed in the 10,000s in the queue. One driver, Diriel Valdez, who runs an auto body shop from his hope told the AP he "got in line" in February, and he's still number 2,800-something in line.

If Cubans rewards at the pump for their patience are pretty disappointing. Drivers are limited to about 20 liters or 5.3 gallons of fuel, at a cost this week of around $7.38 a gallon. The black market offers a quicker solution to filling the tank, but prices for convenience average around $35 a gallon.

But the biggest problem the country has to mount is the supply itself. Reuters reported the U.S. has sent oil to Cuba, about 30,000 barrels of it, but that's all been allocated for private businesses only. The last oil tanker to deliver oil to the island was a Russian tanker that arrived back in March with 700,000 barrels, which would normally last the island a couple of weeks. Those supplies were steadily allocated and have since run out (back in May), causing gas stations to shutter as they await any amount of supply. The Cuban government has said that there are oil suppliers coming through, but the quantities have not been enough to bring Cuba out of its current situation.