Havana — Cuban aviation officials have warned airlines that there is not enough fuel on the island to refuel planes, the latest step in efforts to limit energy as the Trump administration cuts fuel sources to the Caribbean nation.

The Cuban government issued notices to airlines and pilots on Sunday evening, warning that jet fuel would not be available at nine airports across the island, including Havana’s José Martí International Airport, starting Tuesday until March 11.

President Trump’s political pressure on Latin America has effectively cut off Cuba’s access to its primary sources of oil in the Venezuela and Mexico. In late January, Mr. Trump signed the executive order which would impose tariffs on any goods from countries that sell or supply Cuba with oil, a move that could further cripple an island plagued by a deepening energy crisis.

Order it would primarily put pressure on Mexicowhere the government acted as an oil lifeline for Cuba and expressed solidarity with America’s adversary, as did President Claudia Sheinbaum tried to build a solid relationship with Mr. Trump.

There was speculation in January that Mexico would cut oil supplies to Cuba under increasing pressure from Mr Trump to distance itself from Havana, but on Monday Sheinbaum said her country would offer more aid to Cuba and called Mr Trump’s policy unfair.

“There will be more support for Cuba,” she said Monday as more than 800 tons of humanitarian aid were loaded onto Mexican navy ships to be transported to Cuba. She said Mexico was taking the necessary diplomatic steps to resume oil deliveries to Cuba.

“No one can ignore the situation that the Cuban people are experiencing right now because of the sanctions that the United States has imposed on any country that sends oil, in a very unfair way,” Sheinbaum told reporters.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, which also maintains close ties with Cuba, told reporters on Tuesday that Beijing “firmly supports Cuba in preserving its national sovereignty and security, and opposes foreign interference,” adding that China “will always support and assist the Cuban side to the best of our ability.”

Airlines forced to adapt to Cuba without fuel

While the rationalization may not disrupt shorter regional flights, it poses a significant challenge to long-haul routes from countries like Russia and Canada — a critical pillar of Cuba’s tourism economy.

On Monday, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to the island, while other airlines announced delays and layovers in the Dominican Republic before resuming flights to Havana.

One pilot added that although there had been problems with refueling before, an official announcement of this magnitude was extraordinary even for an island accustomed to constant crises. The last time such cuts happened – more than ten years ago – a plane on its way to Europe was refueling in Nassau, Bahamas, the pilot recalled. Now, regional airlines could avoid problems by bringing in extra fuel, while others could refuel in Cancun, Mexico, or the Dominican Republic.

Contacted by CBS News on Monday, Delta Air Lines said it was not aware of any problems caused by the fuel shortage. Southwest Airlines said in a statement that its plane bound for Cuba will carry enough fuel for the next leg of their journey.

“Due to the current aviation fuel status in Cuba, Southwest Airlines requires that aircraft flying to Havana carry enough fuel to also fly to their next destination. The airline currently has one flight per day to Havana,” an airline spokesperson told CBS News on Monday.

“We are closely monitoring the situation,” American Airlines was quoted as saying Miami Herald on Monday.

It remains unclear how long the notice will remain in effect, and Cuban officials have not commented publicly on the matter.

The fuel shortage deals another blow to a country that relies heavily on tourism, an industry that once generated $3 billion in annual revenue and served as a vital economic lifeblood.

The energy crisis affects Cuba beyond jet fuel

Cuban officials also announced on Monday that bank hours had been reduced and cultural events had been suspended. In Havana, the public bus system has virtually ground to a halt, leaving residents stranded as endemic power outages and depleting fuel lines reach bursting point.

The energy crisis has forced the suspension of major events such as the International Book Fair in Havana this weekend and the restructuring of the national baseball season for greater efficiency. Some banks have shortened business hours and fuel distribution companies have said they will no longer sell gas in Cuban pesos — and that sales will be made in dollars and limited to about 5 gallons per customer.

The latest measures follow others announced on Friday, including reduced bus services and limited train departures.

On Thursday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel gave a two-hour televised address, acknowledging the impact and warning that action would be taken in the coming days.

US sanctions against Cuba have been in place for more than six decades and have long hampered the Cuban economy. But they reached new extremes after a US military operation toppled former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Mr Trump began to take an even more confrontational tone towards Latin America.

For many Cubans, the crisis has turned into power outages lasting up to 10 hours, fuel shortages for vehicles and shortages of food or medicine that many compare to the severe economic depression of the 1990s, known as the Special Period, which followed aid cuts from the then-Soviet Union.