14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 3 February 2024 — Few gas stations in Havana escape the fuel crisis that prevails in the country, stirred up by the postponement of the new rates for its purchase. Among the exceptions are Los Paraguas and Corral Falso, the two gas stations managed on Telegram by Esther Lilian Pérez Trujillo, the organizer of the line, “by decree” of the government of Guanabacoa.
Judging by Esther’s reports to the group members of both gas stations, Los Paraguas has received four tanker trucks of gasoline since February 1, a lot compared to other gas stations in the capital, like the San Rafael in Central Havana, which didn’t have any to sell this Saturday.
“One thousand five hundred eighty five gallons of premium gas and 1,849 of regular” arrived at noon. This newspaper was among the first summoned to Los Paraguas, at 1:00 in the afternoon. Few cars waited in line, close to the scheduled time, but the tension was still in the air.
“Is it coming today or not?” asked a customer. “We are on the list and have to buy but the tanker truck hasn’t arrived yet,” he explained to an employee at the gas station. The Cupet trucks, like ships loaded with water and food that are sighted by hungry castaways, were photographed along their way, and people passed on the information of their whereabouts on Facebook.
“One already went by, I think it was going to La Rotonda,” said the troubled driver of a Lada who was waiting in line at the Los Paraguas gas station when he saw a truck with the Cupet logo heading along the Via Blanca in the direction of the other service center. The drivers lined up on a street next to the pumps where the road was once covered with asphalt but now has only potholes, piles of stones and dust. The entrance to Los Paraguas itself is full of puddles of accumulated water, and the vehicles must bypass the holes to access