- Enforcement of the U.S. blockade in Argentina forces Cubana de Aviación to suspend flights
In March 2024, the company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales S.A. (YPF) of the Republic of Argentina informed the airline Cubana de Aviación of its refusal to continue supplying fuel to its aircrafts, in application of the United States blockade against Cuba.
Cubana de Aviación sought countless alternatives to maintain the operations that were already planned and authorized by the Argentine National Civil Aviation Administration and not to affect passengers by contracting other airlines. The Head of Cubana de Aviación’s Unit in Buenos Aires met with high-ranking executives of the Argentine transportation and civil aviation area to find a joint solution. However, she did not receive a satisfactory response to ensure the sale of fuel.
As a result, Cubana de Aviación has been forced to suspend regular flights between Cuba and Argentina, which had been maintained for 39 years.
The application of this arbitrary measure by the company YPF Argentina is an obvious demonstration not only of the application of the genocidal U.S. blockade against Cuba, but also of its extraterritorial nature, in addition to the fact that it contravenes the rules of international trade.
By complying with the U.S. blockade against Cuba, YPF Argentina flagrantly violates its national legislation, specifically Law No. 24.871, passed on August 20, 1997 and enacted on September 5 of the same year, which in its Article 1 paragraph 2 states that “foreign laws that seek to generate extraterritorial effects through the imposition of economic blockade, the limitation of investments in a certain country, or the restriction of the circulation of persons, goods, services or capital, with the purpose of causing a change in the form of government of a country, or to affect its right to self-determination, will be absolutely inapplicable and lack legal effects.”
The breach of contract by the Argentine company, in addition to causing damages to Cubana de Aviación, will harm Argentine citizens themselves and other travelers, including those who had airline tickets purchased to and from Cuba.
It is contradictory to proclaim freedom at all costs, while limiting the freedom of a company that strictly complies with the regulations of Argentina and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The application of anachronistic and absurd restrictions to a Cuban company is a tangible fact that shows the devastating effects of the blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba.
Aviation, like all other sectors in our country, has been hard hit over the years by the measures of the economic, commercial and financial blockade. This has generated, for example, millions of dollars in losses for Cubana de Aviación, due to the cancellation of aircraft leases, the closing of bank accounts and commercial operations, and the impossibility of accessing loans from international banks to maintain and repair its fleet, a common practice for the rest of the airlines in the world. It is also unable to purchase aircrafts due to the impact of the measure that prevents Cuba from accessing means and equipment containing more than 10 percent of U.S.-origin components, which also affects domestic air transportation. All these effects have worsened as a result of the arbitrary and unfounded inclusion of Cuba on the U.S. list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism.
Cuba will continue to denounce the cases of extraterritorial application of the blockade and demand an end to this illegal policy, which constitutes a flagrant violation of International Law and is overwhelmingly rejected by the international community.
