Cuba postpones its annual cigar fair as a US oil siege causes severe fuel shortages and blackouts
Source: AP
Updated 3:37 PM EST, February 14, 2026
HAVANA, Cuba (AP) Cubas annual cigar fair, which was set to be held the last week of February, has been postponed organizers said Saturday, as the island faces blackouts and severe fuel shortages brought about by a U.S oil embargo.
In a statement, the cigar fairs organizer, Habanos S.A. said it decided to postpone the iconic event to preserve its high standard of quality. Habanos S.A., a joint venture between the state-owned company Cubatabaco and international firm Altadis, holds the global monopoly on Cuban cigar sales.
Every year, the company hosts the annual Habanos Festival, a key event for cigar aficionados and distributors worldwide, where attendees tour tobacco plantations, participate in auctions and witness the latest in craftsmanship. The statement by Habanos S.A. did not set a new date for the 26th edition of the cigar fair.
Last year, the event closed with an auction in which $18 million was paid for a batch of highly coveted, hand rolled cigars. The company last year also reported record sales of $827 million. Several cultural events, including a book fair, have been postponed in Cuba this month as the island grapples with the most severe fuel shortages and power blackouts in years.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/cuba-cigars-us-blackouts-embargo-a244cacc499be0c29e1b905ed811436b
Submariner
(13,297 posts)of humanitarian emergency relief oil to prevent power outages at homes or hospitals where life and death of the sick are now at the hands of a desperate deeply racist pedophile rapist serial thief.
ToxMarz
(2,826 posts)He is going to be the one who brings down the Communist Cuban regime. The problem is that is the entire end goal. The methids and consequences to the Cubans in Cuba are irrelevant. And the opportunities for American Cubans endless. They want homes and property they left for a better life, and that others now occupy, back and couldn't care less what happens to those there.
