Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks next to Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel during their meeting at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela May 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello
Wall Street Journal: Cuba’s Reliance Upon Venezuela for Cheap Oil Looms as Potential Threat
Any government under opposition leader Juan Guaidó is expected to quickly halt oil shipments between the socialist allies.
HAVANA, Cuba—The potential collapse of President Nicolás Maduro’s regime poses a threat to Cuba, which relies on Caracas for about 28% of the island’s oil needs.
Venezuela’s opposition says the government’s longstanding oil-barter agreement with Cuba is irrational, coming amid an economic free fall at home, and benefits a Communist dictatorship it reviles.
If Juan Guaidó, who is recognized by the U.S. and about 50 other countries as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, wrests control of the country from Mr. Maduro, his government is expected to quickly halt the oil shipments. The result would be power outages, fuel shortages and government spending cuts that would cause the Cuban economy to shrink by as much as 10%, according to Omar Everleny Perez, an independent Cuban economist in Havana.
Ted Henken, a Cuba expert at Baruch College in New York, said the end of bargain-basement-priced oil for Cuba would cause a seismic shift on the island. “Cuba has limped along for the past 15 years thanks, basically, to the relationship with Venezuela,” he said.
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WNU Editor: Cuba will find a way to get by if their oil is cut-off. They have been doing without now for almost 60 years.