In his speech at the closing session of the 10th Congress of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), Cuba’s largest mass organization, the head of State noted that the rumor related to a total shortage of fuel in Cuba is false.

Díaz-Canel assured that “with the greatest transparency and traditional attachment to truth that has characterized the Revolution from the beginning, the people have been informed about everything that the leaderships of the Cuban Communist Party and the Government are doing to confront the problems that generally affect Cubans and the world, due to multiple crises.” He recalled that ministers of Economy Alejandro Gil and of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy explained to the Cuban people the current complex situation that the nation is going through with supplies.

The head of State added that the current scenario results from the low availability of foreign currency, caused mainly by the tightening of the blockade imposed by the United States and the inability by friendly countries to comply with their commitments to supply fuel, as well as due to the imposition of coercive measures against them.

Díaz-Canel noted that since last week, a group of measures have been taken to mitigate the effects, which were already implemented in the Cuban provinces.

He pointed out that the current context does not excludes the compliance with the strategy to achieve the stability of the national power system in the shortest time possible, as it had satisfactory results during summer.

The president explained that scheduled repairs and maintenance to thermoelectric plants and distributed generation plants nationwide will continue, “but this time it is because we have had little availability to make up for fuel deficits.”

Such problems will affect food production, the functioning of the main economic activities and services such as transportation and water supply, he pointed out.

However, the Cuban president stressed that “all of this has been analyzed, we are facing them creatively, with determination, courage, optimism and with Cuban bravery, because here no one gives up.”

The Committees for the Defense of the Revolution closed their 10th Congress on Friday at Havana’s International Conference Center, where delegates debated the revitalization of the organization in order to adapt it to the new times.

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