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The Ministry of Transport of Cuba (MITRANS) announced this Wednesday a new cut to the national and interprovincial passenger schedule that will come into effect this Thursday, June 18, affecting buses, trains, the Gerona-Batabanó-Gerona maritime route, and the APK Viajando app.
The announcement was made by the Deputy Minister of Transport, Luis Ladrón de Guevara, on the state channel Caribe.
The regime attributes the adjustment to the shortage of fuels and lubricants, which it links to the energy sanctions from the United States, including the sanctions imposed on June 11 against Unión Cuba Petróleo (CUPET).
Under the new scheme, national buses will operate with three weekly departures from Havana to and from the provincial capital cities, a reduction from the daily frequency that was in place since February 2026.
The routes to Baracoa, Manzanillo, and Moa now have only one weekly departure, as do those connecting Santiago de Cuba with San José de las Lajas and Artemisa.
National trains will cover their routes to and from the eastern region once every 16 days, compared to the frequency of every eight days that was established in the first emergency adjustment in February.
The maritime route Gerona-Batabanó-Gerona will operate with two weekly frequencies, at the request of authorities from the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud. National flights will maintain their schedule without changes.
Starting this Thursday, the APK Viajando will also be temporarily suspended. According to MITRANS, "we are going to take advantage of this time to restore the security measures of this APK."
The available slots will not be sold freely: provincial commissions will assign them based on priorities such as appointments, medical clearances, the death of a family member, return to the place of origin, and urgent family needs.
The authorities insist that "there is no prohibition on people being able to move" and that no authorization is required to travel using personal, rented, or private means.
This is the second major cut to transportation so far in 2026, following the "emergency mode" declared in February, when President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged that Cuba had not received fuel since December 2025.
The Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O Levy, admitted on May 14 that the country had "absolutely no fuel, no diesel." In this context, the United States government sanctioned CUPET on June 11 under Executive Order 14404, blocking its assets and prohibiting transactions with individuals or companies in the United States.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the measure by stating that energy finances the repression of the regime and warned: "We will continue to undermine the regime's capabilities."
In parallel with the cutback, MITRANS announced the addition of 20 new buses imported to cover the longer routes between the west and the east. The system will also prioritize the transportation of essential goods: food, raw materials, medicines, and products for the population.
The authorities themselves warned that the instability in fuel supply "could cause delays in departures and even transfer a departure from one day to the next," suggesting that the impacts on Cubans who need to travel could be even greater than previously announced.
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