‘It’s turning bad’: Winnipeggers with Cuban connections call for change amid energy crisis, travel disruptions

Winnipeggers with families living in Cuba are sounding the alarm over the ongoing energy crisis. Danton Unger reports.

A Winnipeg couple with deep family ties to Cuba is sounding the alarm about a rapidly worsening energy crisis on the island, as rolling blackouts, transportation shutdowns and flight cancellations leave loved ones struggling and tourists stranded.

Luis Escalona, who immigrated to Canada from Cuba in 2015, said his parents and siblings still live on the island. He said he’s grateful for any opportunity to speak with them, as ongoing power shortages often make communication difficult or impossible.

“I’m really concerned what’s going on. What is going to happen? I don’t know,” Escalona told CTV News Tuesday.

He said an energy shortage plaguing the island in the Caribbean has been making many facets of life difficult, including cooking, communication and transportation. Escalona said the impact even extends to hospitals in the region that rely on electricity.

“It’s turning bad now in this moment,” he said.

Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades, marked by worsening shortages of electricity, fuel, and necessities. These scarcities are due in part to political pressure from the White House, which has disrupted Cuba’s oil supplies from Venezuela and Mexico.

“This is an asphyxiation campaign,” said Cam Scott, with the Canadian Network on Cuba.

Scott said what is happening right now in Cuba is both a political and humanitarian crisis. He said the Canadian Network on Cuba has launched a parliamentary petition to the federal government.

“…That demands that Canada take a stand against the U.S. blockade and deepen policies of friendship and cooperation with Cuba,” he said.

Scott said the petition already has 5,00 signatures, halfway towards its goal of 10,000.

Several Winnipeggers are also planning to participate in a rally later this month outside the U.S. Consulate, he added.

“We’re quite adamant right now that what we need, in addition to urgent aid to Cuba and a deeper relationship with Cuba. is for the Canadian government to stand up to Donald Trump and to stand up to U.S. foreign policy on this matter.”

The ongoing crisis has led major Canadian airlines such as Air Canada and WestJet to suspend flights to the country, directly impacting Escalona and his wife Monique.

The couple, who originally met in Cuba, said they were just in Cuba last month. However, they said their trip back in mid-March has been halted.

“We received an email saying that we will receive a full refund for the package we book and that there will be no rebooking until after April 30,” said Monique Belliveau.

She said the country’s current state is very different compared to their trip last month.

“Everything ran as normal. Everything was wonderful. There was no lack of food, there were taxis, there was always power in the tourist areas,” she said. “They were still experiencing power outages in their hometowns, but that’s been ongoing for a while. It was no worse than normal.”

“Now, when you talk to (Cuban residents), you can feel the stress, you can hear the fear in their voice. it’s just sadness. It’s not the happy, beautiful country that it was, and that’s in a short two-month time.”

She said the challenges now experienced by locals is “not the reality that anybody sees at the resort.”

Escalona said he was able to speak with his sister on Tuesday, and she told him she had to walk eight kilometres to work because of the lack of transportation.

Belliveau said news that major airlines plan to fly travellers back home from Cuba has come as a relief to some of her friends currently in the Caribbean nation. At the same time, she noted, the decision has disappointed others who were hoping to stay longer.

“It’s a mixture of feelings,” she said.

“Some things need to change in Cuba. They have a tough time, I know, but that island attracts the Canadians because it’s safe, it’s beautiful. The people are stronger than any people I know.”

-With files from CTV’s Jon Hendricks, Danton Unger and The Canadian Press