Havana's MetroTaxi service, known as Gacelas, experienced another disruption this Tuesday due to a fuel shortage, barely two months after a similar halt in July for the same reason. The Transportación Habana TH Facebook page reported the issue, highlighting that the inconsistent fuel supply has temporarily sidelined most of these vehicles.
According to the statement, only two or three Gacelas are expected to operate across the entire capital in the coming days, a minimal number that underscores the severity of the situation. Furthermore, there is no clear timeline for when the service will return to normal, exacerbating the passenger transportation crisis in Havana.
This issue was brought to light by Javier Trujillo in the Facebook group “Reporte de Rutas en Tiempo Real,” who noted that there would be no fuel available for Gacelas on Wednesday. "We received a report that tomorrow there won't be any Gacelas running; there might be two or three, but there's no fuel to supply them," he stated.
Government's Ineffectiveness Amid Fuel Crisis
The disruption of this popular transportation service is yet another glaring sign of Cuba's ongoing fuel crisis, which shows no sign of resolution. Recently, Vicente de la O Levy, the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, claimed that the fuel needed to alleviate the power outage crisis "is in Cuban ports," but it has not been unloaded.
Official journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso shared on Facebook the minister's comments, ironically made during the inauguration of the Third International Renewable Energy Fair. Vicente de la O Levy said that the fuel "is in Cuban ports on the ships" and that a solution for its unloading was imminent. He emphasized that, as part of a "financial sacrifice by the country," the fuel unloading was planned, presenting it as a significant achievement that "large sums of money are paid weekly."
Government's Response and Criticism of Private Initiatives
Despite the Cuban regime's evident inability to solve the transportation crisis, the government's focus has been on criticizing those who, through private initiatives, manage to move passengers. This was evident from the statements made last June by Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz.
Marrero expressed his frustration during a visit to the municipality of Antilla in Holguín, where he criticized private transport operators in front of state transport workers. "How can private transport be operating while state transport is paralyzed? On days when there is no fuel, there should be none for anyone. It can't be that there's fuel for private operators but not for state ones, whose prices are more affordable for the population," the prime minister stated.