Economics
Cuba Fuel-Depot Blaze Threatens to Aggravate Island’s Economic Crisis
- Disaster expected to worsen fuel and power shortages
- Fire came as communist island faces blackouts, 29% inflation
Firefighters rest in an area where a massive fire at a fuel depot occurred in Matanzas, Cuba, on August 9.
Photographer: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The four-day fire raging at a Cuban fuel depot is darkening the outlook for an economy already reeling from blackouts, shortages, Covid-19 and soaring import costs.
As of Tuesday, state-run media said four of the eight fuel storage tanks, each with a 300,000 barrel capacity, were ablaze. The fire was brought under control late Tuesday and images on state-run media showed small, simmering puffs of gray smoke with no visible flames. Cuba’s presidency said on Twitter the firefight was “in a more favorable moment.”