HAVANA, March 4, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Cuban aviation authorities told airlines on Tuesday that a jet fuel shortage would be extended until April 10 as the United States persists with an energy blockade on the country.

Several airlines have already stopped flights to the Caribbean island, while others have maintained service by shift routes so they can refuel elsewhere.

The de facto energy embargo on Cuba was imposed in January after the US military operation that seized president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, a key oil supplier to Cuba.

US President Donald Trump later tightened the energy blockade by threatening Mexico, another major supplier, with steep tariffs if it exported energy to Cuba.

Cuba, under a US trade embargo since 1962, has for years been mired in a severe economic crisis, but the latest measures are hammering the island's tourism sector, its second-biggest source of foreign currency after medical services exports.

Trump has made no secret of his desire for "regime change" in Cuba, and has threatened tariffs on any country that provides oil to the island nation he has said is "ready to fall."