On Tuesday and Wednesday, Cubana de Aviacion flights to Buenos Aires were canceled because fuel suppliers in Argentina refused to serve the airline.
The companies have invoked "provisions of the United States blockade against Cuba" to not supply the aircraft of the Cuban state airline.
Additionally, this measure has affected other airlines contracted by Cubana de Aviacion, preventing them from fulfilling commitments to passengers.
This surprising decision took place despite the Cuban flights being approved by the Argentina's National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC).
In response to this situation, the airline has decided to assist affected passengers in Cuba by sending them back on flights operated by other airlines connecting to Argentina. Other passengers will be eligible for a full refund of their airfare.
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During the first quarter of 2024, the Cuban airline transported 3,221 passengers with an occupancy rate of 61 percent. The number of Argentine travelers to Cuba increased by 44 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 12,753 people.
While Milei doesn't have a lot going for himself, in this case it could also be that the companies supplying the fuel have some US component / have more to lose from not having access to American markets than they gain from supplying that airline, and it is the US government to blame.
The US blockade of Cuba is, of course, very hypocritical; there have been human rights abuses in Cuba relatively recently (e.g. the crackdown on peaceful July 11 2021 protestors), but if that is grounds for continuing sanctions of an unrelated industry for links to that country, then if there wasn't a double standard the US should firstly be sanctioning Israel for years of brutal repression and apartheid in Israeli-occupied Palestine, and secondly be sanctioning itself for the police crackdowns on protestors calling for righting the wrongs in Palestine.