Since January, the Trump administration has blocked foreign oil to Cuba. Will the island’s cigars survive the crisis?
![A Havana local smokes a cigar on the Malecón - the city’s waterfront area. Both domestically and abroad, Cuban cigars are becoming an increasingly rare luxury. [Euan Wallace/ Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/DSC02741-1775944580.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Alfie Pannell is an associate editor at Latin America Reports based in Bogotá, Colombia. His work has been featured in Reuters, NPR, the Miami Herald,... The Latin Times and more.
Since January, the Trump administration has blocked foreign oil to Cuba. Will the island’s cigars survive the crisis?
![A Havana local smokes a cigar on the Malecón - the city’s waterfront area. Both domestically and abroad, Cuban cigars are becoming an increasingly rare luxury. [Euan Wallace/ Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/DSC02741-1775944580.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
From taxi drivers to tour guides, the collapse of Cuba’s tourism industry has left thousands struggling to get by.

Leaders of Colombia and Ecuador trade allegations after Gustavo Petro says 27 charred bodies found on country’s border.

Colombia’s Muslims comprise less than 0.2 percent of the population in a country that is majority Catholic.

The criminal group suspended talks in response to reports that the US and Colombia would target its leader for arrest.

The plane vanished near Colombia’s eastern border, and the search was hindered by dense terrain and adverse weather.

Colombia could face its own turmoil from the stunning turn of events both in violence and a mass influx of refugees.

Analysts warn US ‘terrorist’ designation of the EGC could escalate violence and hinder peace negotiations in Colombia.
![US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to traveling journalists at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada [File: Mandel Ngan/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AP25316790559208-1763005327.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Copa, Wingo, Satena and Boliviana halt Venezuela flights, citing navigation signal issues and safety concerns.

A panel of three judges found Santiago Uribe guilty of homicide and criminal conspiracy for his ties to paramilitaries.
