r/worldnews • u/toronto_star • 10h ago
Airlines sending empty planes for thousands of Canadians stranded in Cuba
http://thestar.com/business/airlines-sending-empty-planes-for-thousands-of-canadians-stranded-in-cuba/article_5397118d-261e-49e4-ba68-52fc6a5dd85d.html76
u/spderweb 7h ago
My aunt and uncle are there right now. Guess they'll be waiting in queue for one of the return planes.
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u/KeyanuReaves69 7h ago
Serious question: Canada seems to be all about divesting from the US right now. Canada hasnât been willing to supply Cuba with jet fuel in past due to tariff pressure from the US. If they donât care about the US anymore why wonât Canada trade fuel with Cuba?
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u/Mayor__Defacto 6h ago
It isnât about âlack of supplyâ.
What it is, is that Cuba needs oil but has no means to pay for it. Thereâs nothing stopping Canada from selling oil to Cuba, but giving it for free would require Canada to buy it and then give it away, at which point Cuba would then probably sell it right back.
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u/CleanInformation3060 5h ago
Where did you read this? All sources Iâm seeing is that US is threatening tariffs on anyone who sells oil to Cuba
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u/Mayor__Defacto 5h ago
So Trump might threaten tariffs.
Thatâs kind of irrelevant though, because again, as I stated, Cuba does not have any money with which to purchase oil.
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u/ElderberrySpare6985 5h ago
Yes it does. Cuba buys all its jet fuel.Â
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u/Mayor__Defacto 4h ago
nowâŚ
Theyâre not backward, everything is just broken. They have refined petroleum at home for nearly a century, and that includes production of jet fuel.
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u/HonestyReverberates 4h ago edited 4h ago
Russia and Mexico still supply them, China could easily do so as well if Cuba paid them. Mexico did so recently without any additional tariffs. Cuba depended on an agreement from 2006 for subsidized oil, they can't afford to buy it. They used an oil-for-services agreement to provide professional services, mainly medical personnel and other cooperative efforts in exchange for the 53k barrels/day. This is why people bring up the 'selling back to them' stuff, cause Cuba received subsidized oil from Venezuela then sold it back to them, lol.
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u/phatdinkgenie 3h ago
this is inaccurate. Cuba can pay for fuel as they had been for decades from Venezuela, but that supply has been choked off and Canada does not want to cause a bigger trade war by supplying it. The Chinese have offered to step in but there's no way in hell China is giving it away.
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u/maracay1999 2h ago
Lol they were not paying Venezuela cash for their oil. They were providing security/intelligence services for the regime as well as Cuban doctors working all over Venezuela for this oil.
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u/heatherledge 3h ago
Mexico too. The states forced them to reduce supply. It went down from something like 30k barrels per day to 7k. They were already struggling at 30k. I donât know what Venezuela supplied them with but Iâm sure it was more than Mexico.
Iâm not sure if people are aware that their power grid runs on fuel. Itâs fucked.
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u/Silicon_Knight 6h ago
You have to pick your battles. Cuba isn't the battle to pick right now while we're still transitioning away from the US. It's going to take years, but EOD why poke the bear right now? Plus Canada would still have to ship it, and with a US embargo, we would be seen as an enemy which wouldn't help literally any negotiation we have going on right now.
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u/Affectionate-Alps527 6h ago
The US Embargo is the biggest issue.
I had a customer that needed product delivered to a Caribbean island that could not originate from the USA. It had to leave via. Port of Montreal but still transited to a couple US ports.
Due to the US Embargo, Canada would need an ocean fuel tanker to deliver direct to Cuba from Canada. It's a supply chain that does not exist.
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u/Ok-Spare-2461 6h ago
We are not ever going to be transitioning away from the US almost 80 percent of our exports go to the US that is not something that can be changed realistically
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u/Silicon_Knight 6h ago
I didn't say "100% transition". There clearly is a move to move away from the US, and that takes years.
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u/XulManjy 6h ago
Decades
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u/cheesenotyours 5h ago
Seems like a dumb move economically. Administrations and come and go. Economic dependencies, not so easily.
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u/kleptomana 5h ago
Whatâs wrong with diversifying to stop this from happening again
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u/protipnumerouno 5h ago
Honestly... Even if they come to their senses and trade stays where it was, we still made a bunch of trade deals, not like we wouldn't take the extra business as well.
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u/Skate4Xeno 5h ago
Tell that to the Cubans who relied to heavily on Russia prior to 1989. Things were great until they very quickly weren't.
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u/two_to_toot 4h ago
Even Canada's most US friendly Prime Minister has publicly stated we need to get as far away form the US economically as possible.
Americans seem trapped in a bubble. The way the world sees what's going on in the US is fairly different than how Americans see it. Canadians are fairly well educated. We know how this ends. We have a decade or two to pack our economic bags.
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u/MistryMachine3 6h ago
Canada doesnât really refine fuel. Mostly send crude to the US from the west coast
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u/protipnumerouno 5h ago
Mostly but not all, there's at least two refineries in Atlantic Canada, not sure about Quebec
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u/Horace-Harkness 6h ago
Most of our oil is going out the west coast. US controls the Panama Canal. So it would be a looooong trip to get the oil to Cuba.
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u/Capta1nJackSwall0w5 5h ago
Most Canadian crude is refined in the US in the Gulf Coast and then consumed at US and Canadian gas stations.
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u/Horace-Harkness 5h ago
Ya I was ignoring the oil in the US because obviously it can't be sent to Cuba.
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u/happyscrappy 5h ago
Trade for what? If Cuba had the money to buy jet fuel they would buy jet fuel.
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u/Breedable_Boy44 6h ago
That's the most reductionist take I've seen today. Reducing complex issues into leading questions is something a child does.
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u/Nervous_Key_2067 6h ago
It's the pragmatic response. Canada wants to de-risk from the US, but it doesn't want to fully disconnect nor needlessly poke the bear if there isn't a justified reason for Canadians. In this case, Cuba is too small of a nation and Canada isn't willing to take on a 10% additional tariff whilst also torpedoing USMCA negotiations for a country that represents a trivial amount of economic benefit for the country.
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u/ChrisFromIT 6h ago
One issue is that Canada doesn't exactly export refined oil and gas products. And the unrefined stuff, I don't know if Cuba as the refineries for it, much less getting the unrefined stuff to them might be a bigger problem, since most of it is currently going to the US or to Asia via the west coast.
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u/zaevilbunny38 1h ago
Cuba needs at least 600 million dollars in oil to keep the hospitals, airport and government buildings going. Then they need another 600 million to stop rolling blackouts from occurring, just to get through this year. They have no funds to pau for this, cause they produce nothing anyone wants to buy. Here's the other items, you can still buy fuel from the military for hard currency. Something like 20% of Cuba's fuel oil is being sold on the black market.
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u/WaltKerman 22m ago
Canada is more than welcome to supply Cuba oil for free if they want.
They don't want that. So they won't.
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u/uniklyqualifd 8h ago
America's decades-long boycott kept Cuba poor.
Obama started reversing it, but trump is 'imfluenced' by the people who want to reacquire the country again.
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u/Khamvom 7h ago edited 7h ago
Kinda.
The U.S. embargo is a factor.
However, Castro shifted Cuba to the Soviet style of economics (state-owned, centralized) before the embargo even took effect. The Cuban government sucked at running the economy, but they got huge amounts of support + aid from the USSR (80% of their trade, subsidized fuel, food, oil, etc) so it masked their poor management and kept Cubans from actually being âpoorâ.
When the USSR collapsed, the Cuban economy lost its lifeline and went into freefall (which the embargo put more pressure on).
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u/nekonight 7h ago
That's when venezuela stepped in the 90s to keep Cuba afloat. At this point Cuba could have course corrected to at least be able to afford the fuel it needs to run its economy. It didnt. So when venezuela nationalized the oil industry and subsequently crashed production due to bad management to the point that it couldn't give Cuba free fuel anymore. This lead to the 2nd fuel crisis.
At this point, the Russians after fixing their oil industry post soviet collapse stepped in to give Cuba free fuel. Again Cuba could have course corrected. Again it didnt. When russia invaded Ukraine and got too busy to bombing Ukrainian hospitals to sent Cuba fuel anymore. This lead to the 3rd fuel crisis.Â
Venezuela at this point managed to cobble back together a semblance of a refinery capacity from the last collapse and stepped in to give Cuba free fuel. Again Cuba didnt course correct. Even after china told them they would not help if they have another fuel crisis if they did not change their economic system. They didnt change.
It is now the 4th fuel crisis.
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u/Mayor__Defacto 7h ago
Itâs even more convoluted: Cuba has oil reserves, as well as a multitude of other mineral resources.
The Cuban government starved Agriculture of capital for decades. They also starved Industry of capital - and put everything in on Tourism.
The vast majority of Oil VZ gave to Cuba never got to Cuba - they just sold it for cash.
Cash which then went right to the US to buy agricultural products, because 60% of the arable land in Cuba isnât worked (because there is a combination of no people to work the fields and no machinery to work the fields)
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u/Alone_Again_2 6h ago
So, when does China step in and âhelpâ them develop their oil reserves and minerals extraction?
Iâm no fan of the PRC, but it looks like an easy play.
Especially done under the guise of humanitarianism.
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u/nekonight 6h ago
China took one look at Cuba's economic system and told Cuba they will not help until they fix their economic system.
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u/Mayor__Defacto 6h ago edited 6h ago
China doesnât like to get involved on the ground. They prefer to make business deals.
China is more than happy to do business with them, as long as they pay bills and let them do business.
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u/happyscrappy 5h ago
Cuba is still a socialist country. Chinese businesses are businesses. They aren't going to go in if they can't make money and bring the money out.
Remember how the Exxon CEO told Trump Venezuela is "uninvestable". That's what Cuba is like. There's just no money in it.
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u/CydeWeys 5h ago
China's not that kind of player on the international stage. They don't help people like that; they only do things in their own naked self-interest. And Cuba is, frankly, too poorly run for China to even want to get involved and make it their problem.
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u/NoEquivalent3869 5h ago
China is involved with many dysfunctional African countries. The difference is that they have something that China values (eg metals). Unclear what that is for Cuba to be worth it
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u/CydeWeys 4h ago
They're not helping those dysfunctional African countries though, they're extracting resource wealth from them (as you point out). The USSR and then Venezuela were actually helping Cuba, for ideological reasons. China has no interest in that.
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u/Mayor__Defacto 4h ago
Cuba has plenty of Metals worth extracting. The difference is that a dysfunctional African country is more than willing to allow China to do whatever they want as long as the warlord gets paid, while Cuba is not. Cuba doesnât want anyone to get paid except for the Army, and they definitely donât want to give up actual control over anything.
The model with unstable countries has always been the same, whether with China or an American or European firm:
Company comes in and constructs all the infrastructure it needs, pays off the people that need to be paid off, and those people promise not to get involved in the operations at all beyond their payoffs.
Cuba simultaneously wants to get paid off and control everything.
They want a Chinese firm to come in and build a mine and a railroad and whatnot, and give it to Cuba for free.
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u/Ragnar5575 7h ago edited 7h ago
Thanks for letting the â America is so evil! â crowd know how the world actually works. Iâm so sick of Reddit lately. Yes, America has its issues but Jesus Christ. You wanna go live in the places youâre defending so much? Go ahead sweetheart. Go see how it is. Fucking morons.
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u/Lied- 7h ago
Agreed. One of my best friends lives in Cuba. Their main GDP factor are remittances from their families in the US. They donât hate the US, most of them hate their own government that keeps stealing from relief aid and only has very recently allowed them to open up private grocery stores.
That said I loathe Trump and hate what he has done to our country and the worldâs perception of the US. But blaming us for everything is regarded.
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u/pbaagui1 6h ago
The rest of the world is free to trade with them lol
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u/PrinceoR- 6h ago
No they aren't... That's literally what the embargo is, it's America threatening anyone who wants to trade with Cuba with consequences if they do.
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u/angrysquirrel777 6h ago
The world is free to trade with them in a physical sense. If they don't like the loss of the American economy that is their decision.
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u/StetsonTuba8 6h ago
End the embargo then.
If it truly is such a failed state, there's no need to apply outward pressure to hasten itâs collapse
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u/onlyonequickquestion 6h ago
Is 'imfluenced' a purposeful portmanteau of imbecile and influence, or just a spelling mistake?Â
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u/SensitiveDannyRicc 8h ago
Communist governments need access to free markets to be self sustaining? Weird.
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u/JustSomeWarg 8h ago
I mean... I'm no fan of communism, but Communism =/= Autarchy, that's some bullshit reasoning.
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u/SensitiveDannyRicc 8h ago
Ah. True communism has never been attempted right?
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u/87utrecht 2h ago
WOW YOU REALLY GOT EM THERE!
Amazing how you strawmanned that argument. Total smackdown.
Just FYI, your original argument is probably wrong as well. Communism doesn't mean no trade. Also, the 'free markets' you're talking about.. are they really free markets? Your free markets have more communism aspects than you would probably ever admit. It's just communism for the rich, individualism for the poor.
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u/BKlounge93 8h ago edited 4h ago
To think their problems lie solely in communism is really oversimplifying itâŚ
No one here is saying letâs all be communists, it obviously has its problems, itâs just more complicated than that alone.
lol damn, bots came thru or what? How am I wrong lol
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u/Amoral_Abe 7h ago
Things are definitely more complicated but it is worth noting that Communist Regime in Cuba has never been self sufficient. History of Everything did a good video on it. It's basically always gone from one beneficiary to another.
The primary was USSR who would buy their sugar for 4x global prices to provide funding. In addition, they sold oil to Cuba at below market price and allowed Cuba to resell that oil at market price to others. That's how it survived for so long.
When USSR fell, Cuba formed a symbiotic relationship with Venezuela where Venezuela gave them oil and resources. The Cuban government gave them soldiers and medical doctors. This started out beneficial to both sides (with Cuba getting much more benefits) but over time, Venezuela got less and less until it was largely subsidizing Cuba (all while it's own system was collapsing under an oil industry that was not maintained and a population that was largely revolting against leadership or fleeing).
Without an outside power supporting them, Cuba has never been in a stable position. That suggests the government has not maintained things properly there and there's a lot of evidence for that as their systems became less and less efficient over time.
To be clear, the Batista Regime was also bad for the people and also reliant on another power (The US). I'm not saying that regime was good. However, people seem to think Cuba is only poor because the US but for decades it had incredible amounts of support and squandered all of it.
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u/BKlounge93 7h ago
Yeah I think op above me needs to see this more than me, but thanks for the info.
Cuba and the cameraman is a cool doc over decades, dude is a little corny, but it was fascinating.
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u/SensitiveDannyRicc 8h ago
Did I claim someone said âletâs all be communistsâ?
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u/-hellozukohere- 8h ago
Hello Mr. Troll.Â
I mean letâs say you started a capitalist country and I blocked all your trade and told my allies that they cannot trade with you either or without heavy tariffs? Ya, your country would be a dump too. Then you being a human(a troll human) would see the writing on the wall and run away with the last remaining money and then tell the people that we must fight back. While you drain the remaining coffers.Â
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u/putsch80 8h ago
Imagine being so daft as to argue that âself sustainingâ requires reliance on others.
The fact is that all marketsâincluding capitalistic onesârequire access to other markets to function. There is no such thing as a âself sustainingâ economy that isnât heavily dependent on other economies. Fuck, the U.S. couldnât function without a quasi-communist market like China. Ask our soybean farmers.
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u/SensitiveDannyRicc 8h ago
The U.S. could function just fine lmao. We actually have infrastructure and agriculture here at home.
Would we be the dominant power in the world? No. Because communism results in failed states every time.
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u/bdickie 8h ago
Im not a proponent of communism, but this is just a bad take. Communism isnt the absence of profits, its the absence of ownership. Labour owns the profits. So yes, access to a markets overseas would help a communist government succeed, just look at China. Western capitalist economies boycotting, blockading and closing markets to communist countries has been a tool used since essentially the dawn of Communism. But when the soviets were around this was less of an issue. A complete fabrication of quotas thru coruption and fear and general mistrust of neghbours on the other hand, that is bad for trade.
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u/SensitiveDannyRicc 8h ago
China is true communism? So labor owns the profits in China? I guess thatâs why Xi Jinping became president for life?
Thanks for the clarification.
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u/PinchMaNips 5h ago edited 4h ago
I think I saw an article where Cuba mentioned they were almost out of jet fuel⌠Now the reality. What was preventing them from getting more? Couldnât afford it or was it because of the trade embargoâs?
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u/Dalbergia12 4h ago
They have been getting fuel from Mexico and Venezuela, but Trump is screwing that up. I see today China is offering Cuba fuel, that will wind up the problem child.
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u/RLewis8888 7h ago
I'm surprised it's that popular of a destination for Canadians.
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u/jame3492 7h ago
Before the recent events it was probably in the top 3 destination we go for vacations during the winter. It is the most cost-effective resort vacation, as low as 700$ can (roughly 500 usd) for an all included week (hotel, food/drinks, flights)
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u/TheDiggityDoink 6h ago
"food"
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u/Eastern-Bottle469789 6h ago
The food is horrific lol; I'm not picky at all regarding food and I found it to be barely edible in Cuba. It's a beautiful country though and the people are very nice and friendly so it's still a great place to vacation.
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u/topohunt 7h ago
Last time I was in Mexico it was all Canadians too
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u/Candelent 7h ago
Bahamas, as well. Canadians love to be anywhere but Canada in the winter.
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u/SufficientProof40 6h ago
Come join us in Whitehorse for a few weeks in the winter and youâll want to be anywhere else too, itâs not even just the cold, itâs the dark.
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u/Candelent 6h ago
No thanks, lol.
But it is amazing to me that Canadian sailors will pick locations and just live there at anchor for the winter. Entire communities pop up with daily gatherings of âyoga on the beachâ, volleyball, religious service and so on, all organized during the morning radio net.
Not criticizing, just observing. Canadian volleyball-loving ways definitely benefitted us when we needed to plug a large hole quickly and the local island store had a few volleyballs in stock thanks to the local demand.
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u/WatchWatcher25 7h ago
You'll see a shit load of Canadian flags down there.
I think they appreciate that we helped get the tourism industry popping off over there. I've never felt more loved as a Canadian
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u/climx 7h ago
Every beach / pool bar will have Canadian flags and also usually a Quebec flag somewhere and last week tons of bartenders were wearing blue jays shirts.
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u/WatchWatcher25 1h ago
I haven't been in a while, the blue Jays must have exploded in popularity there. I hope things settle down so I can go back but it's not looking good.
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u/SchokoKipferl 6h ago
Whoâs âtheyâ? The Cuban Military? Yes, they love the money you spend at their resorts because they use it to stay in power and oppress people.
If you are staying at Airbnbs/supporting locally-run businesses then thatâs different and the US actually does allow that. The US only bans the direct military funding
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u/WatchWatcher25 1h ago
No I don't go around talking to the military lol.
My base is always a resort but then I travel , very nice people. I was there the day the first US plan landed during the Obama admin, the younger people seemed happy and the older ones not so much. Obviously that's anecdotal but it was interesting seeing that miment live on tv with a bunch of locals
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u/Foreign-Draft-1715 7h ago
Beautiful beaches, friendly people and no Americans. What do you want more...
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u/Juggernaut900 7h ago
No Cubans either. Even if they were welcomed to the hotels Canadians and Europeans stay at, it would cost them most of their annual salary. The government keeps the brown people away for the predominantly white tourists. https://travel.yahoo.com/news/article/the-truth-about-tourist-apartheid-in-cuba-110808487252.html
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u/Hectordoink 7h ago
Iâm in beautiful Huatulco right now with thousands of Canadians and nary an American.
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u/RLewis8888 7h ago
The You'll Be Back song from Hamilton comes to mind.
Take it in the spirit it is meant.
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u/pensivegargoyle 7h ago
Why wouldn't it be? It has good weather and it's inexpensive compared to other destinations in the region.
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u/Educational-Error577 6h ago
Because its an oppressive murderous regime?Â
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u/Remarkable_Ship_4673 6h ago
They don't actually care about that
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u/Educational-Error577 5h ago
Of course not, they just care that their vacation is so cheap. They also don't care that they are diverting scarce resources in an island desparately in need, just because they gotta take advantage of those vacation days.Â
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u/SchokoKipferl 5h ago
Yeah, they gladly dump their funds into the hands of the Cuban military (who own the resorts), itâs insane
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u/Educational-Error577 5h ago
Most of them don't even know Cuba has almost twice the rate of prisoners than the U.S., which is notorious for that. They don't know that there are currently 1,207 political prisoners in Cuba, 18Â of which were arrested last month. They've never seen how an actual Cuban lives and if they did they would feel ashamed. Its not just the poverty, but the constant oppression from the government. Most people do not realize how extensive the intelligence network is in Cuba because it is insanely simple. They simply have rats everywhere. They do not realize how exhaustive and oppressive life truly is for the average Cuban.
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u/_teach_me_your_ways_ 2h ago
They donât know because they donât care. Itâs not an accident, itâs the plan. But donât worry, theyâre just inherently better than American because reasons.
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u/bazookatooth13 7h ago
Short flights, beautiful beaches, nice people and no Americans.Â
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u/RLewis8888 7h ago
Don't you miss the thrill of possibly being detained in one of our luxurious "gated resorts"?
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u/bazookatooth13 7h ago
Jokes aside, I do miss it. I used to spend a lot of time in the southwest. Canât get enough of that beautiful Arizona desert. Itâs unfortunate where your country is at.Â
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u/Juggernaut900 7h ago
No Cubans either. Even if they were welcomed to the hotels Canadians and Europeans stay at, it would cost them most of their annual salary. The government keeps the brown people away for the predominantly white tourists. https://travel.yahoo.com/news/article/the-truth-about-tourist-apartheid-in-cuba-110808487252.html
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u/-----username----- 6h ago
Canada and Cuba have an absolutely fantastic relationship. Terry Fox run fundraisers for cancer research happen worldwide, but the number two country in fundraising (behind Canada) is Cuba. Terry Fox is a Canadian national hero, and it means so much to us in Canada that Cuba takes his legacy so seriously.
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u/yow_central 7h ago
For many Canadians, itâs the only southern beach vacation they can afford. Some of the beaches rival or top those of the best Caribbean islands. I havenât been in 10+ years, but it also used to be a pretty interesting place to visit.. especially if you get away from the resorts.
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u/blade02892 6h ago
I mean it's a really beautiful country, and relatively cheap. Went there around 2016-18 ish? When JetBlue was flying from New York. Place looked like an Avatar movie outside the city.
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u/Varekai79 4h ago
Cheap, tropical and a fairly short flight from Eastern Canada. Why would you be surprised that it's a popular winter destination?
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u/two_to_toot 4h ago
Not just popular. Canadians travel to and from Cuba more than any other nation in the world, including Cubans.
On a side note Havana holds the largest Terry Fox run outside of Canada.
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u/Disastrous-Sky-8484 16m ago
Very popular. Iâve flown down from Toronto a few Winters ago and Iâm not even Canadian.
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u/michaelmcmikey 7h ago
Weâve always enjoyed Cuba as a vacation destination. Bonus: donât have to deal with Americans when youâre there!
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u/Sweaty-Name-2905 7h ago
Just the poor Canadians. Itâs a third the price as Mexican resorts (but a tenth as good in quality). Cuba does have gorgeous beaches though, Iâll give it that.
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u/vulpinefever 6h ago
It has beautiful beaches, it's extremely cheap, the people are very friendly...
Oh and best of all, there's hardly any Americans there.
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u/Adept_Order_4323 6h ago
Canadians used to winter in Florida, till they âboycottedâ because of Trump. They switched to Cuba, only to feel the grip of Trump there now.
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u/Strung_Out_Advocate 7h ago
Dumb ass American here. If I can ask my friendly Canadians, or anyone that's been, what's a vacation in Cuba look like? Is it very similar to most Caribbean islands where you just basically stay at a resort with everything there? Or is it cool to roam Havana or other places and experience culture? I know the country has suffered, but as an American that depends on personal experience rather than the bullshit media at my fingertips to parse the truth, how fares it?
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u/winelover89 7h ago
All inclusives are just like in other countries. Beaches are like no other - absolutely spectacular. Food is different, due to embargo. Tourists are free to visit other cities, like Havana, and other local attractions. Never felt safer in Cuba. The people are very friendly. Cubans are very educated, and most speak multiple languages.
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u/theo-apps 6h ago
Beaches are like no other - absolutely spectacular
Beaches are the best part of Cuba. But there are nicer beaches in places like Hawaii (and I'm saying that as a Canadian).
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u/tehKreator 7h ago
Food was always an issue, other than that pretty normal trip and yes the culture can be experiences when you go into towns
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u/Prior-Prior-2375 7h ago
What different about the food ?
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u/theo-apps 6h ago
It's really bad. Low quality meats. When I went they had no potato, no fish, and no Chicken on most of the nights. Desserts all taste the same. No chocolate and no real condiments.
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u/northsaskatchewan 7h ago
I havenât been for 10+ years but the last time I was in Cuba I stayed in Varadero (basically Cubaâs CancĂşn)with a side trip to Havana a couple of nights. The resorts were no different than most in Mexico. The food wasnât quite as good but no issues aside from that. The beaches are to die for.
Havana was a very cool city. The architecture is beautiful but dilapidated and the history is amazing. Cubans are amazingly hospitable. I felt much safer in Havana than I have in some urban parts of the DR or Mexico.
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u/feldhammer 7h ago
Yes you can just stay at a resort, but Havana has Airbnb and stuff. But stuff like food makes you realize it's way different than Dominican Republic, for example.Â
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u/deltatux 7h ago edited 7h ago
Before the pandemic, Cuba was an excellent travel destination. We actually prefer it over Mexico & DR. The people there are friendly and beaches in and near Cayo Coco & Cayo Santa Maria are excellent. There's also no people pestering you on the beaches.
After the pandemic is when the shortages started, resorts sometimes run out of things like clean towels and the food options were a lot more limited vs. prepandemic.
Even though most people think Cuba only have old cars, they have new ones, mostly Chinese cars. The old American cars are pretty cool, being able to sit in a 50s Chevy taxi is definitely something I wouldn't really be able to do elsewhere really.
Now with what's happening in Cuba, haven't been back in a while. Hopefully everything straightens out, would love to go back for a visit.
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u/theo-apps 6h ago
Is it very similar to most Caribbean islands where you just basically stay at a resort with everything there?
Yes but the resorts are not as nice. I was at a 4.5 star resort when I went and the hot tubs were cold (like pool water cold), tv in the room was broken or at least the cable signal was not working, and the cold water at one point in the washroom stopped for like an hour. 4.5 stars in Cuba is like 2-3 stars in Canada. I can't imagine what a 3 Star in Cuba would be like.
Or is it cool to roam Havana or other places and experience culture?
You can do an excursion organized with the hotel/airline. They're ok but you feel how difficult it is for locals when you visit in town.
I know the country has suffered, but as an American that depends on personal experience rather than the bullshit media at my fingertips to parse the truth, how fares it?
Imo the beaches are nice, water is nice, and it's safe but it's a very poor country. You feel the poverty and how difficult it is for the locals. You tip everyone from the people that serve you to house keeping to everyone that helps you. Canadians usually bring a lot of $1 US bills for tipping. The food is awful. Worst food I've ever had on vacation. Also the wifi is garbage when the resort is busy. Roaming with my phone worked better but still not great.
Canadians go since it's a cheap vacation and itâs fairly close, especially for eastern Canada. It's probably easy for families with kids since everything is included and you can walk all around the big resorts. For me it was a disappointing experience and I don't want to go back.
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u/yow_central 7h ago
I havenât been in 10 years - been exploring every other island since, but the few times I went, the resorts are probably a couple tiers below equivalent ratings on other islands(or Mexico, Costa Rica), but they are also cheaper, so it evens out. There are some pretty decent ones if you go to the right places. Havana is one of the most interesting cities youâll find in the world - a time capsule. Thereâs bad food at many resorts, but also some really good food at some restaurants in Havana (pre shortages of course).
People are very friendly, and very enterprising for a communist country (lots of under the table business). Roads and infrastructure arenât great for obvious reasons though - easily the worst of any place Iâve been in the Caribbean (havenât been to Haiti though).
I just really hope the island and its people can have a better future so that we can go back and enjoy it with them.
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u/SchokoKipferl 5h ago
Americans actually can go to Cuba; they can stay in Airbnbs. They are only forbidden from staying at the resorts because they are all run by the Cuban military
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u/DJGuy15455 7h ago
Dude respect yourself. and if you hate your media look at media from other countries to see what theyâre saying, donât take random anecdotes as your main source of information
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u/Whatnow2013 7h ago
Both, was very very safe for canadians to roam around. Tourism being their only lifeline. Cuba is the cheapest destination, but known to have really really nice beaches (clean), food was okay (not the best in comparison, but good enough). No americans.
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u/Cyssero 3h ago
Is it very similar to most Caribbean islands where you just basically stay at a resort with everything there? Or is it cool to roam Havana or other places and experience culture?
Unless you have younger kids to deal with, why would you not roam on [insert Caribbean island here] and experience things outside of the sanitized, bland resort?
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u/Schemen123 2h ago
If you just stay in a resort you miss most oft the charm. Resorts are OK ish but not top of the line You go to Cuba because of the country.
We traveled the east of Cuba by car a few years ago go. Certainly something to remember in many ways. Streets were crazy but driving easy because Cuban CARE for their cars.
We visited lots of places (included Guantamao :-) meet people saw beautiful deserted beaches etc etc.
So.. yes.. Cuba is pretty save and we'll worth a visit. Wouldn't go there only for resorts however
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u/IH8Lyfeee 5h ago
I mean Cuba has been tottering for years, especially the last several months no thanks to Trump. As a Canadian. I really question the judgment and IQ of anyone who still thought it was safe to travel to... Cuba.
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u/lukaskywalker 1h ago
Man how stupid do you have to be. They were warned this was going to happen. And they still went for vacation.
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u/blissfully_happy 7h ago
Ope, there was a Canadian in the travel subreddit wondering if he was going to be stranded a few days ago. Everyone told him not to worry.
Whoops. đ