A young Cuban woman residing in Miami reported that upon her arrival in Cuba, when she went to pick up the rental car at the airport, she was charged 140 dollars just for gasoline, plus an additional 60 dollars as a tip for the person handing over the vehicle: a total expense of 200 dollars without even having left the terminal.
The young woman, identified on social media as Claudeliña, shared on Facebook the video with her story, recorded before leaving the facility.
"When I went to pick up the car, they told me I had to pay 140 dollars for gas. 140 dollars for gas! We don't even spend 140 dollars on gas for our truck, our trailer," she said, visibly upset.
According to his testimony, tips have also skyrocketed. "Before, you would come and save $20, $25 for the person who brings your car. Now you have to give $60. In other words, when you arrive at the airport, you have to fork over $200," he lamented.
The young woman, who traveled with Delta Airlines, mentions that during the baggage claim, the power went out three times, something she had already anticipated. What she didn't expect were the charges for the car.
"I'm doing it now (the video) because later you see family and forget everything. I'm really stressed and I haven't left the airport," she emphasized.
The comments on the video indicate that this experience is not unique. One internet user wrote, “You got off easy; they charged me 250 for a full tank.” Another revealed that in Santa Clara, they asked for a $100 tip “right to my face, directly.” A third user summed up the situation with a powerful statement: “This is the level of extortion that exists. It’s the law of survival.”
A Camagüeyan resident in the United States recounted an even more frustrating experience that happened years ago: "My husband rented the car more than three months in advance. When we arrived in Cuba, there was no car, and we had to spend over three hours arguing with the rental thieves to end up with a car that couldn't hold our luggage, that had an air conditioning system that didn't cool, and that got a flat tire leaving Havana." Upon reaching their destination and claiming the tire change, they accused her husband of having given the good tire to someone else and putting on an old one. "That was in 2018, and we've never returned since," she concluded.
The background for these charges is the fuel crisis that is affecting Cuba: since May 15, 2026, the regime has liberalized the price of gasoline in foreign currency and set the B100 at $2.60 per liter in official dollarized channels. In the informal market, the price has reached between six and eight dollars per liter.
Car rental operators directly pass on this cost to the customer, resulting in charges that travelers describe as extortion. In July 2026, a rental of 450 dollars for a single day was documented for the trip between Havana airport and Cienfuegos. In August, Cuban Rachel Zanabria posted a viral video denouncing that they delivered the rented car without gasoline despite having paid for a full tank.
The pattern repeats: the traveler pays from abroad for a service that, upon arriving at the airport, turns into a series of unexpected charges, poorly maintained vehicles, and forced tips, all without any effective regulation to protect the user.
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