Cuba's commerce minister blames need to ration food on Trump administration

Cuban flag.
(Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Cuba will begin widespread rationing of staple foods and other products such as chicken, eggs, rice, beans, and soap as the country faces what The Associated Press calls a grave economic crisis, the government announced on Friday.

Commerce Minister Betsy Díaz Velázquez blamed the Trump administration for hardening the United States' trade embargo on the island. Some economists, meanwhile, argue that the crisis stems more from the fact that Venezuela has not provided Cuba with its usual amount of aid since becoming mired in its own dire economic and political situation.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.