Communists debut a new justification for hunger in Cuba: "The Panama Canal has dried up"

The United States “embargo”, hurricanes, climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, the global inflationary crisis, and the freezing of rivers in Canada that prevents the importation of peas; all of these justifications had already been argued in the past by communist leaders to explain the economic crisis in Cuba and the lack of food.

However, this December 20th, at the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP), Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, “debuted” a new justification. According to the Cuban leader, the drought in the Panama Canal is preventing two ships of rice, which the island had purchased on the international market, from arriving on time for distribution, as the country is not self-sufficient in food production.

Marrero says the water level in the Panama Canal has dropped and two rice ships were left unable to pass… things that happen👇🏻#Cuba pic.twitter.com/sTFDoPumlR — Mag Jorge Castro🇨🇺 (@mjorgec1994) December 20, 2023

“The things that happen to us, right now the water levels in the Panama Canal have gone down. We have two ships of rice for Cuba. We have to see how to resolve this situation,” the prime minister told Cuban parliamentarians.

The drought in the Panama Canal as a new justification for the food shortage in Cuba has generated intense debate. While some critics see this statement as a desperate maneuver by the Cuban government to evade responsibility for its economic management, others consider it a reflection of the complex situation facing the Caribbean country, which is highly dependent on imports.

The problem experienced by the Panama Canal, a geographical element outside the control of Cuba, has raised questions about the vulnerability of the nation to external factors that can affect its food supply. The dependency on imported products has left the country vulnerable to climatic and geopolitical factors.