Trash piles up in Havana as US oil chokehold halts garbage trucks

HAVANA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Garbage has begun to pile up on street corners in the Cuban capital of Havana, attracting hordes of flies and reeking of rotten food, in one of the most visible impacts of the U.S. bid to prevent oil from reaching the Caribbean's largest island.

State-run news outlet Cubadebate reported this month that only 44 of Havana's 106 rubbish trucks were able to keep operating due to fuel shortages, slowing garbage collection.

Cardboard boxes, used bags, plastic bottles and rags have piled up on street corners across the seafront capital, as some residents sorted through the waste looking for scraps they could re-use, while motorists, pedestrians and bikers are forced to circumvent the imposing heaps.

"It's all over the city," said Jose Ramon Cruz, a local resident. "It's been more than 10 days since a garbage truck came."

In other towns on the island - home to around 11 million people - residents took to social media to warn of the risks to public health.

Cuba's communist government has implemented rationing measures to protect essential services in a country that was already suffering from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine.

The national oil supply has fallen off dramatically in two months.

Venezuela - once Cuba's top supplier - effectively stopped sending shipments in mid-December. Mexico's government also said it was halting shipments after Washington threatened tariffs against countries that send supplies to Cuba.

A Russian newspaper last week reported that Russia was preparing to send crude and fuel cargoes to Cuba in the near future, without giving a specific date.

The U.S. has maintained an embargo on Cuba since 1960, but in recent months President Donald Trump's administration has hardened its stance, sanctioning vessels shipping oil to the island and threatening tariffs on suppliers.

The U.S. administration argues the measures will increase pressure for political change in Cuba. The United Nations has long voted for the U.S. to end its embargo, and leaders from Mexico and Venezuela said blocking fuel could have serious humanitarian impacts.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "very concerned" about the situation, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Monday, adding that U.N. teams were working with the Cuban government to help support humanitarian relief efforts.

"The secretary-general would like to see all parties pursue dialogue and respect for international law yet again," he said.