US blockade against Cuba causes serious effects on automobile transportation

HAVANA, Cuba, May 3 (ACN) The paralyzation of equipment and limitations in the supply of fuel are some of the effects suffered by the Automotive Transportation Services Business Group (GEA by its Spanish acronym) as a result of the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.

Juan Javiel Montesinos Llerena, deputy director of this Higher Organization of Business Management (OSDE), which gathers cargo and passenger transportation entities by road, said that the aggressive policy prevents the acquisition of parts, pieces and accessories in nearby countries, thus increasing the cost of freight by having to import them from more distant markets.

In an exclusive interview with Cuban News Agency, he emphasized that the lack of financial resources to buy them has an impact on the obsolescence of the vehicle fleet, whose average age is 15 years, although some of them have been in operation for three decades.

Of the 12,500 vehicles that make up the Business Group, more than 800 are paralyzed for lack of tires and batteries, and almost 500 for lack of engines.

In order to seek solutions, the GEA is chained to the domestic industry for the production of several assortments; however, the U.S. blockade also limits this sector by slowing down the acquisition of inputs and preventing production from being on time and of high quality.

Since April 2019, the United States has hindered the flow of fuel to Cuba, which has decreased the allocations of the 19 companies integrated to the referred OSDE of the Ministry of Transportation.

In this complex scenario, our entities have continued to comply with the services to the population and the support to essential economic activities, such as the transfer of the regulated family basket to all regions of the country, he stressed.

Despite the difficulties, and thanks to the efforts of its workers, the GEA remains committed to complying with the country's priority programs, its deputy director concluded.